Legend of the Dark Moon
by Sailor Heartache
Summary: The story of a legend and how it unfolds and changes what happened to destroy the Silver Millenium and leading to creating Crystal Tokyo.
1. Book 1 - Prologue

2/15/01  
Legend of the Dark Moon - Book 1 - Prologue by Sailor Heartache  
  
The room was loud, each occupant trying to get a word in. It was a   
common occurrence, for the day was the first of the month, calling for the  
monthly council meeting. A round table sat in the middle of the room, each  
of the Knights of Vesper sat arguing over the latest problem. Vesper was a  
large planet, its size larger than our own sun. Known for it's unmentionable  
power, Vesper was the capital of the Star Kingdoms.   
  
There were nine knights in all: Logan, Prince of Astrum; Matthew, Prince  
of Stella; Alexander, Prince of Sidus; Luke, Prince of Caelum; Drake,  
Prince of Otium; Scott, Prince of Lucis; Thomas, Prince of Hora; Leslie,  
Princess of Vesper; and Ryan, Prince of Vesper. Each knight was the first  
born of his/her kingdom, the exception being the two knights from Vesper.  
  
Leslie and Ryan were twins, born less than two minutes apart. They   
unbearably close, and sometimes even their parents wondered how they   
remained so close to each other. Ryan himself was supposed to be the  
future King of Vesper, but when he became engaged, he gave way to his  
sister. The Knights of Vesper themselves would one day rule their own  
stars.  
  
A loud bang silenced everyone in the room, all except Amor, the king of   
Vesper. "Enough. It's time to get to the bottom of this. Drake, what exactly  
does the prophecy state?"  
  
In a voice full of fear and hope he read the prophecy aloud.  
  
In a time of freedom,  
A new age shall be born,  
Triplets of the stars shall be born,  
Uniting the Earth and Heavens,  
Immortal;  
The children shall never grow old,  
Nor shall they have children,  
Forever in their shadow shall be peace,  
Yet only when their soul mates appear shall it triumph.  
  
"That's all? How are we to judge by this?" Logan asked.  
  
Leslie looked up from where she had been listening, "We aren't, we can  
only try to decode the message." Pausing she thought, "It says 'triplets of  
the stars'. That means that they shall be born in one of the star kingdoms."  
  
Ryan looked at his sister nodding in agreement, "True, but may I ask why  
we are so worried about this anyway? There is absolutely nothing we can  
do to   
change it."  
  
This time Alexander answered, "There is nothing we can do, but that does   
not mean we can not be prepared for the inevitable."  
  
"Your highness, I beg to agree with Prince Ryan. There is no reason to  
worry over such a prophecy. It gives no date, or even close. We shall not  
even know when it shall occur." Scott said.  
  
"You're right as always, Scott. Only what happens if it does occur?" Amor   
responded.  
  
Drake looked up from the scroll he was reading, "Your highness, it does   
seem as if there's more." As the King motioned for him to read it he began:  
  
The greatest powers in the universe,  
The triplets shall triumph over the ultimate evil.  
The oldest with the power of light and love,  
The middle with the power of time, space, and the stars,  
The youngest with the power of all living things and death itself,  
Together they are unbeatable.  
  
  
"Thank you, Drake, but I still do not see how this shall help us."  
  
"Don't you see? The power of the moon? Ryan himself is marrying Queen   
Serenity of the Moon Kingdom! Who is to say the children shall not be his  
own?"  
  
"Drake is right, my lord. What are the odds of this not being the match? If  
not it could take maybe years for the prophecy to be fulfilled." Luke added.  
  
"Then it is coming! The time of eternal peace." Ryan said, "He is right  
father, it truly is time for the revolution."  
  
"Ryan! You've forgotten that we don't know what comes before the peace!   
We could be wiped off this star without another thought! You can't just  
think that peace will come on its own, first you must defeat evil!" Amor  
exclaimed.  
  
"Yes, but it has not been foretold of any war in the future." Leslie added.  
  
Amor sighed at his children's stubbornness. He had seen many wars, most  
of   
which he had even fought in, and the one thing he had learned was that  
peace   
would never come without a fight. "Let us drop this subject. There is  
nothing to be done till the triplets are born anyway."  
  
Drake nodded, and moved towards the next subject. "It seems as if a small   
civil war has broken out on the small planet of Earth. They have sent us a  
plea for help."  
  
"How small is this war?"  
  
"It seems as if the planet is not equipped with any protectors. In fact it  
seems as if their bodies can't hold magic. It's quite odd, never before have I  
seen this." Scott said.  
  
Leslie looked at Scott thoughtfully, never had she heard him say something   
like that. Scott was the genius of the bunch, he had traveled to almost  
every star and planet, with the exception of the Milky Way Galaxy. They  
had not yet formed an alliance with them, but if Ryan's marriage to Queen  
Serenity went through then they would be able to. "What's so different  
about them?"  
  
"Well, it's as if they don't want their powers." Pausing thoughtfully he   
continued, "There are only a few who could even control it, but they don't  
seem to know or want to."  
  
Luke interrupted, "Guys, now's not the time for you to discuss Earth's   
potential powers. We need to decide whether or not to help their people."  
  
"He's right for once," ignoring the glare he received Alexander, he   
continued, "What do we know about this war?  
  
"Not much. It seems that the current rulers aren't treating their citizens  
well, so they've decided to rebel. They've even picked the next ruler, that is  
who wrote us for help." Drake shuffled through some papers, "His name is  
Stephan, and he has a son Endymion."  
  
Logan looked up, "Well, do we know how bad the circumstances are?"  
  
"Unfortunately we do. The citizens have been trying for years to improve   
their government. The King and Queen ignored all their pleas, I'm  
surprised they   
didn't rebel earlier," Drake answered.  
  
Amor sighed, "How bad are their odds of winning?"  
  
"Not good. Earth's forces are split, the few who do know how to control   
magic have joined the King's side. The only chance they have is if we help  
them."  
  
"Ok, we'll have to send the Knights, since it's peaceful, we shouldn't have  
any problem with your absence. Are there any objections?" Amor asked.  
None were spoken. "Then travel to Earth and resolve this problem."  
  
Each Knight nodded, leaving the room to prepare for their journey.   
~~~~~~~  
  
A small breeze blew across the desolate atmosphere, a small tumbleweed   
blew by unnoticed by anyone. There were no noises, no sounds, nothing at  
all that was living. The only things that could be seen were dead bodies  
everywhere, some missing arms and legs, others not so lucky.  
  
A loud sound was heard in the distance, it moved closer and closer. Finally  
two men emerged from a small thicket of thorns. They seemed to be  
looking for someone or something, each looked anxiously in different  
directions.  
  
The older of the two men spoke up, "The transmission said they would  
meet   
us here. Right?"  
  
The second nodded in agreement still looking for the group of people they   
were to meet. "Yes, Stephan said that they would be arriving here shortly  
after   
sunrise."  
  
All of the sudden a new voice joined the other two, "My guess is that you   
would be looking for us."  
  
The two men turned the sight they saw was not what they had expected.   
Standing about a hundred yards away, was not the army they expected,  
instead a   
group of twelve each dressed in royal armor.  
  
"Don't be so rude Ryan! Let me introduce myself, I am Leslie Princess of   
Vesper. My father has sent us to help you."   
  
The men looked at the group critically, trying to find out what it was that  
they could do to help.   
  
Alexander looked at the taller of the two men, "Don't judge us by our  
looks, we are the most powerful Knights in the Star Kingdoms."  
  
The younger of the two men looked the girl over, "What do you mean? She   
is a girl for Gaia's sake. Girl's can't be knights."  
  
Leslie looked the young man over, "What's your name boy?"  
  
"Michael."  
  
"Well, Michael, as my friend has said never judge a person by the looks."   
Pausing she glanced at the sun, "I would challenge you, but time is  
pressing we   
must see Stephan."  
  
The older of the two smiled, "Sure, I'm Jason."  
  
With that he led them silently over a few hills, and into a small wooded  
area. The group was quiet the whole way no one said a word, yet their  
thoughts said enough. Eventually, a small camp came into view.  
  
"The eagle of the sun clashes with the dove of the moon." Jason said as  
they reached the edge of the camp.  
  
The new comers looked on wondering if maybe the man in front of them   
was crazy. As they continued to watch a hundred or more soldiers moved  
away   
from where they had been hidden.   
  
"Stephan, we've brought the recruits from the Star Kingdoms."   
  
A tall man nodded and stepped out of the crowd, "Welcome, I thank you   
for coming on such short notice."  
  
Luke looked at him curiously, "When do you ever have anything other than   
short notice? This is a war."  
  
Stephan chuckled deeply, "That is true my friend."  
  
Stepping forward Ryan smiled, "It's quite ok. Let me introduce myself. I'm   
Prince Ryan of Vesper, the current leader of the Knights of Vesper."  
  
"Don't let him get to you, he just likes people to know that he's got power."   
Smiling Leslie stepped forward, "I'm Princess Leslie."  
  
One by one each of the Knights introduced themselves.  
  
"It is a pleasure to meet you all, but I must say when your father agreed to  
send help, I did think that he would send an army."   
  
Logan looked him over thoughtfully before answering, "Stephan, is it true   
that earthlings do not believe in magic?"  
  
"Of course not! Magic is just a legend!"  
  
Logan smiled, and held is hand above his head. "Astrum Star Strike!"  
Moving his hand in a circular motion, a flaming ball of light formed. With  
precise accuracy he shot it at a group of trees, leaving nothing but an  
empty hole.  
  
The group of soldiers looked on in awe. None had ever seen a sight like  
that, in fact none had even believed it possible.   
  
The Knights smiled, and waited calmly for the soldiers to exit their stupor.   
"Do you think Logan went overboard?"  
  
Smiling Leslie turned to him, "No, I think if he had of just levitated  
something they would have blamed it on the wind."  
  
"You're probably right, but how long do you think they'll stay like that?"   
Alexander asked motioning to the group of soldiers who were staring  
silently at the new clearing.  
  
Stephan shook his head. His son had once done something like that, but at   
the time they had no idea what it was. "May I ask how you did that?"  
  
Scott stepped forward, "It's really very hard to explain. Every planet or star  
has it's own protectors, even Earth. Most of the time it's the royal family  
that holds the power, but in Earth's case it's not. For some reason your  
planet's power has been given to someone unknown to even the royal  
family."  
  
"My son," Stephan replied, "Has been able to pull roses out of nowhere  
since he was one, and once when he his mother was killed he released a  
power beam from his head. Could he possibly be the one?"  
  
The knights looked each other over wondering if it was possible. Leslie  
finally nodded, "It most likely is."  
  
"I'm truly am sorry, but we really must get to the business at hand." Ryan  
said guiltily, "We must return to the Star Kingdoms soon."  
  
Stephan nodded in understanding, "Of course."  
  
He headed for his tent motioning for the others to follow, leaving the still  
stunned soldiers in their wake.  
  
"We started this war about two months ago. At that time we had over four   
thousand men signed into our army, but the King's forces were too strong.  
After the first few battles we realized that there was no way to defeat them  
without help. So we wrote to you and the Silver Millennium for help.  
Queen Serenity sent us the Sailor Senshi, which have left to scan the King's  
forces."  
  
Ryan nodded, he knew that Serenity had helped them. "Do you know when   
they will return?"  
  
"We're right here, your highness." Sailor Venus said from the doorway.  
  
Each of the planetary senshi was there, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars,   
Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and even the legendary Pluto.   
  
"Mercury! Why in the world did Serenity send you? You're pregnant for   
Vesper's sake!"   
  
"I promised that I wouldn't use my magic, and she allowed it." Mercury   
answered ignoring the shout of protest from Stephan when she said magic.  
  
"Really your highness, you know that Mercury is the most level headed of  
us." Jupiter added.  
  
Sighing he let the matter drop, and sat down with Venus to make plans for   
the final attack on the Earth's Palace.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
  
The attack went smoothly, there was nothing to stop the Knights, except  
for mere soldiers who could not understand how they seemed to be able to  
control an unknown force. Approximately two hours after the battle began  
it was over. And if the queen had not been so stubborn it would have been  
only an hour.  
  
The senshi themselves did not stay long after the battle, but instead  
returned to their queen. Venus had told them before they left that Mercury  
was beginning to have contractions, each knight prayed for the safety of  
their friend.  
  
The knights stayed for three weeks, helping the new monarch build and   
repair the broken government. It seemed as if Endymion was the protector  
of   
Earth, and before the Knights left, each taught him a lesson of magic.  
  
Logan taught him to control large amounts of power in one attack, Luke   
taught him to focus on something hard enough for it to come true, Ryan  
taught him to be patient while learning a task, Leslie taught him never to  
underestimate an opponent, Alexander taught him to be brave and never  
fear an enemy. Mathew taught him to be elusive and stealthy, Thomas  
taught him to be quiet and listened to the sounds around him, and Drake  
taught him that no matter what never attack an enemy before they had  
proven themselves an enemy.  
  
Before long the time the knights spent in Earth was over, and each said  
long good byes to their new friends before returning home. Each promised  
to look out for the earth.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
2 Years Later- Moon Kingdom  
  
"My lord, what is to be done about lady Beryl? She has proven herself as a  
powerful and decisive enemy. If we do not do something then she will  
become too powerful for us to handle!" exclaimed the King Paul of Venus.  
  
"Paul, my friend, there is not much we can do! She has yet to break any of   
the laws of the Silver Alliance, and unless she does we cannot arrest her or  
take any punishment upon her. The only thing she has committed is being  
powerful, and she is still not as powerful as my sister or her guards. If we  
must we will send for them." King Ryan of the Moon Kingdom replied.  
  
It was a solemn meeting, the kings of each of the planets in the Silver   
Alliance had met to discuss the latest threat. The only problem was that the  
threat had yet to prove threatening.  
  
"Ryan, we must do something! If we do not then we may leave it up to our   
children! Think of your unborn child! What will happen to her if we do not  
stop   
Beryl!" Shouted the King of Mercury.  
  
Ryan sighed and took a sip of his wine. "You know I would love to do   
something, but it is written in our own laws! We cannot prosecute  
someone for   
something they have yet to commit! "  
  
"But what about Earth? Several of their lords and ladies have been killed,   
those who survived say that Lady Beryl is to blame!" Argued Titan of  
Neptune.  
  
"Yes, but Earth is not within the Silver Alliance! We can't punish her for   
something that was not committed inside of our kingdom! Earth laws must  
punish   
her!" He rebutted.   
  
Kevin of Mars stroked his mustache, "But Earth does not have adequate   
facilities for taking away a persons magical abilities! If they do punish her  
she will most likely either disappear or wait out her sentence growing even  
stronger."  
  
"Let us look at the facts, Beryl has not fled Earth for a reason. She does not  
wish to be punished under our laws so she stands at her own planet waiting  
to become stronger so that she can attack us." The King of Mercury  
paused, "If that is the true reason she remains on Earth, then we must stay  
prepared for her arrival."  
  
"But if that is so, then what if she is too strong for our defenses? They are  
not at their best, and haven't been since the last war." Kevin asked.  
  
Ryan looked out the window, "That is true." Turning to the young courier   
standing by the door. "Go to the General, tell him that I have issued a  
decree   
stating that all armies shall be in full training until further notice."   
  
The courier nodded and did as he was told.  
  
"What about the senshi, Your Highness?" Luther of Uranus asked.  
  
"What about them?"  
  
He looked at the King with curiosity, "Don't you think that the senshi  
should begin full training also? Maybe even the younger senshi should  
begin when they turn of age."  
  
"But Luther, the Elder Senshi are all pregnant! We cannot ask them to  
begin training until they have given birth!" Ryan argued.  
  
This time it was Lance of Pluto who spoke, "That is not true, your  
highness. Each of the outer senshi gave birth last week. The inners are all  
expecting some time this week." Pausing he looked as if he was thinking of  
something, when he seemed to have come to an agreement with himself he  
continued. "It will take a while for the outers to get back into shape, and in  
a few years we shall need to train the younger senshi. I think it would be  
wise to start them into training as soon as possible."  
  
The King of the Moon nodded, "Yes, I think you're right, Lance. Each of  
you tell your wives that as soon as the children are independent enough for  
them to begin training they shall meet on the Moon. I will have Leslie  
come down to train them. Are there any more arguments?"  
  
The Kings all looked at each other, no one spoke. Then a loud crash was   
heard and the doors to the large room were pushed open. A small boy of  
about   
nine years entered the room.  
  
"My kings, I bring news for King Ryan." Turning to the highest king he  
said, "My lord your wife is in labor, it seems as if she is to give birth at any  
moment!"  
  
The king nodded politely at each of the members of the Silver Alliance   
before quickly taking his leave and heading for his birthing wife.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
  
The queen of the moon had her baby, in fact she had three of them.  
Triplets the cutest little things in the world all three were girls. The first  
was perfect in every way on her head shone the bright symbol of the Moon  
they named her Serenity. The second was completely different from her  
older sister, Serenity had blond hair and a fair complexion like her mother,  
this daughter had a medium complexion and light brown hair they named  
her Alexandra. Alexandra was born with the symbol of the stars on her  
forehead. The third was looked most like Alexandra, her dark brown hair  
was a complete clash with her mother and her dark complexion was a  
perfect match with her father. This child was different she had an air of  
complete power about her, she was by far more powerful than either of her  
sisters. This daughter was born with the two symbols interlocked, the  
crescent moon hung from the star that burned brightly upon her forehead,  
she was named Charity.  
  
From the beginning each baby began showing extraordinary power,   
Serenity would heal any animal or person brought to her, Alexandra began  
to show   
true loyalty and protected her two sisters with powerful energy beams, but  
Charity was different. Charity's power seemed to draw from something  
larger then her two sisters, and she seemed to have a power that was  
unmatched in the universe.  
  
When the triplets turned six it was decided that since their power seemed  
to be greater then any of the royals before them, they should train with the  
sailor senshi. Serenity became Sailor Moon, protector of anything  
innocent. Alexandra became the first sailor senshi of Vesper, Sailor  
Vesper, protector of the stars. Charity's powers seemed to have no source,  
and without one she could not become a senshi, but unable to let her sisters  
fight without her she became Dark Moon. It wasn't that Charity was evil,  
but her power was so raw that it appeared black to anyone who saw it, but  
her power was different from the others.   
  
The senshi all had to have focus to concentrate their powers, Dark Moon's   
powers came from everything around her animals, space, time, light,  
darkness, and even the very neutrons that surrounded her. It was of her  
power that each of the silver senshi were born. Taking a bit of each of the  
planets power she combined them with her own life force giving each  
senshi a crystal that was more powerful then any power stick. For Princess  
Ami of Mercury was the Ice Crystal, for Makoto of Jupiter was the Storm  
Crystal, for Rei of Mars the Fire Crystal, for Minako of Venus the Soul  
Crystal, for Haruka of Uranus the Heaven Crystal, for Michiru of Neptune  
the Ocean Crystal, for Setsuna of Pluto the Time Crystal, for Alexandra the  
Star Crystal, and for Serenity the Silver Crystal.  
  
Over the years something became realized, Charity was not a normal  
senshi   
nor was she a normal Princess. There was something about her, something  
that fate had tried to tell her, but no one not even herself could find out  
what it was. Dark Moon became leader of the Moon's army, but one could  
never imagine it so. Charity was a quiet girl shy and loyal, but when she  
fought you could never tell for her temper was legendary. If you touched  
one of her friends it would be wise to go ahead and make a death wish.  
Dark Moon's powers were grander then anything in the universe, greater  
then the entire force of senshi that resided within the Silver Alliance.   
  
Soon she began to take on more important roles, since she was a Princess   
with out a crown, she could be used as a high diplomat. From the time she  
was 15   
she was trained to become an ambassador, and one her 16 birthday she was  
sent   
on her first mission to the Celestial Kingdom, one of the kingdoms of the  
stars, to make a treaty with the high Princess Innocence.   
  
Serenity became a powerful warrior not near as powerful as her youngest   
sister, but still very powerful. She was known through out the Silver  
Alliance for her fair beauty and marvelous fighting skills.  
  
Alexandra became the leader of the sailor senshi, she had a warrior's heart  
that competed even with the legendary Uranus. She became the crown  
Princess of Vesper when Queen Leslie died during a rebellion of one of the  
smaller stars.  
  
Each sister felt that they should protect Charity, for even they could see  
that something was waiting for her.  
  
Over the years the prophecy was forgotten, and would be for many years   
to come.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
16 Years, 4 Months, & 5 days After the triplets birth-Moon  
Kingdom  
  
Uranus struggled against Dark Moon, sweat poured down her face, but she   
did not give up she continued to search for an opening. Dark Moon didn't  
move   
and her face showed little emotion, a thing she had learned from Pluto, and  
she   
continued to block the series of punches and kicks that were intended to hit  
her.  
  
Uranus's mind was running fast, she was trying to think of anything that  
she had yet to throw at her opponent, but it was no use she had used  
everything she had. With a frustrated sigh she stepped back and bowed,  
symbolizing the end of the match.   
  
Dark Moon smiled, a very small smile, "Come on, Uranus. You know  
you'll   
beat me some day, you'll just have to wait for that day to come."  
  
"I know, but sometimes I just get frustrated!"   
  
Charity smiled softly, "Yes, I guess it would get rather annoying."  
  
Uranus smiled at her princess, "Yes, Charity, but we had better get a move   
on. Alex called a training session."  
  
"Why? I just got back from Vesper and she's already bombarding me with   
practice sessions!" The young girl grumbled.  
  
Uranus just smiled and followed the girl to the training grounds to meet the  
other senshi.  
  
"Charity, when are you off again? Did your mother tell you?"   
  
Charity smiled over her shoulder as she continued to jog, she had little  
time with her friends, but when she did she made sure to make the best of  
it. In her normal soft voice she answered, "No, but I'm sure it's going to be  
soon. Someone has to get a treaty formally signed with earth. After I do  
that I'm off to Mercury to find out what's been bothering the royal family."  
  
"When do you get a break? We haven't seen you in forever!" Venus said   
entering the small group.  
  
Charity's smile grew wider, true she was very shy, but not around her  
friends. "Maybe, after I get through on Mercury I shall be able to return  
home for the Winter Festival."  
  
"SENSHI GET IN POSITION! WE HAVE TO GET A MOVE ON!"   
  
The three smiled and went to take their places.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
  
  
"My lord, Beryl has reached her full power level. Her body was never  
meant   
to hold magic, so unless she becomes immortal she will not be able to  
withstand   
the pressure that will be put on her body." Kevin said.  
  
Ryan looked over at his friends, "Yes, but she has yet to commit any  
serious crime! I know she is not stupid, she has to be waiting for the right  
time. Sometime when all of our defenses will be down."  
  
"Your highness, what about Winter Festival? The senshi will all be  
attending and the castle will not be protected." Titan suggested.  
  
"Yes, that's quite true, but if so there is nothing we can do about it.  
Ordering the senshi to remain within the palace would make the public  
become aware of our situation. I would rather if that was not to happen. Do  
we have any other options?"   
  
Luther looked up, "We could deploy Dark Moon. She could hold off Beryl   
easily, and she should return from her travels by then."  
  
Ryan looked up. He hated putting Charity in so much danger. No matter   
how much he tried to deny it, she was his favorite child. "Are we sure that  
there are no other possibilities."  
  
Paul smiled grimly, "Quite, it's either Dark Moon or the Kingdom in  
chaos."  
  
Ryan nodded, "So be it, but let no word of this leave this room. The  
kingdom mustn't know that Dark Moon is in service, to them she will still  
be on a diplomatic mission."  
  
The kings all nodded. Paul spoke, "Before we leave we have one last thing   
to discuss."  
  
Ryan nodded for him to continue.  
  
"We have determined that Beryl is being used as a human focus by a   
greater force. We need to find out what this force is, without knowing  
there is no way for us to stop it."  
  
Titan nodded in agreement, "I had the same thought, at one time we   
thought it was Metallia, but she has been accounted for. She still resides in  
the lands of darkness."  
  
Kevin added, "We should have someone look into it. What are the Elder   
Senshi doing?"  
  
"They've been dispatched to the Celestial Kingdom to help end some   
disputes with them, it's part of our alliance with them." Answered Paul.  
  
"Then we will just have to send the Knights of Vesper, I'll have Alexandra   
summon them. Are there any other matters to speak of?" No one spoke.  
"Then   
you're all dismissed."  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
  
Queen Serenity moved around her room with the grace of a cat, but her   
eyes betrayed a look of sadness. She was about to send her youngest  
daughter on   
yet another diplomatic mission. Charity seemed to enjoy the work, but still  
a mother never likes to send her youngest so far away.  
  
Charity was always traveling, being the strongest warrior of the Silver   
Alliance and a Supreme Princess she made a perfect diplomat.  
Unfortunately, her   
mother hated putting her in as much danger as a diplomat had to go  
through.  
  
She hated the fact that she allowed all of her children to fight with the   
senshi, for the Supreme Princesses were never supposed to be used to  
defend their own kingdom. Serenity each day did more and more  
dangerous things, Alexandra led the senshi into battle every time that there  
was a war, but each of her children seemed to have their own independent  
stride about them. Charity was different though, she seemed as though she  
needed someone to depend upon.  
  
Sometimes Serenity felt as if Charity was more like Hotaru the then she  
was   
her own sisters. Somehow though she knew there was somebody out there  
who   
would help her stand on her own two feet, but until that time came she  
would   
make sure her baby had enough people to depend on.  
  
A loud knock on her door spooked Serenity out of her revere. Shouting for   
her daughter to come in she sat down on the bed.  
  
Entering the room Charity looked at her mother, "Is it already time,  
mother? Must I leave so soon?"  
  
Charity gave a mental sigh, she loved being a diplomat, but the time away   
from her friends and family took a toll on her.  
  
"If I had a choice you know I wouldn't send you off so soon, but if you  
want to be back in time for Winter Festival." Serenity replied.  
  
Charity nodded. Winter Festival was a tradition, each year at the beginning  
of winter the royal family joins the peasants to celebrate the successful  
harvesting of crops. "Okay, just give me a few minutes to get ready."  
Turning to the door she rang a small bell, and a courier appeared in front  
of her. "Ready the Midnight."  
  
The courier nodded. "Yes, your majesty."  
  
The courier disappeared and Serenity smiled, "Charity, beware Earth can  
be   
strange at first, and when you get to Mercury tell Elizabeth that I said good  
luck with the new baby. I've never seen a royal family so large!" Both  
Serenity and Charity giggled, "Oh, one more thing, your father wanted to  
talk to you before you left."  
  
Exchanging a quick good bye Charity headed to talk with her father.  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
Alexandra and Serenity sat silently in Serenity's bedroom, both were  
worried about Charity, she had been doing so much lately that she had  
began to become even shyer then she was.  
  
"Maybe we're worrying over nothing." Alexandra voiced.  
  
Serenity shook her head, "No, something's getting to her, and whatever it is  
she doesn't want us to know about. She's afraid about something. Can't you  
feel it?"  
  
Alexandra nodded, all night she had felt something, but she wasn't used to   
feeling her sisters thoughts. That was more Serenity's talent then hers.  
"What can we do? She's leaving for Earth any minute now! There's no way  
we can talk to her before she leaves!"   
  
Nodding Serenity answered, "Yes, but what ever it is she'll tell us when she  
thinks she's ready. We're missing something, I don't know what it is."  
  
Alexandra frowned. She hated when her sister was down. Charity was a   
rock they could lean on. Even if she was the youngest of all the senshi, she  
was the most dependable. If you needed someone to talk to you normally  
went to Serenity, but when she was gone they all went to Charity. She was  
as kind a listener as her sister, and was willing to listen to anyone. "She'll  
tell us. She'll tell us." She repeated as if reassuring herself.  
  
Serena smiled, "Don't worry, I'm sure it's not to bad." Then continuing to  
herself she thought 'I hope.'  
  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
  
  
Ryan of Vesper and the Moon looked over his balcony. The capital was so   
peaceful, a complete illusion from the monarch. If only he didn't have to  
send his children into battle. He finally realized how his father must of felt  
when he sent the Knights of Vesper on a mission.  
  
"Daddy?"  
  
"Come on in, sweetie." Ryan answered.  
  
Charity smiled and entered his room, she had always been a daddy's girl.   
"Hi daddy. Mom said you needed to see me."  
  
Ryan looked up at her, she was wearing a black cat suit with silver  
lightning streaks all over it, her shoulder length hair pulled up in a  
ponytail: it was the outfit of Dark Moon. "Leaving already? I thought you  
would have at least gotten half a day off."  
  
Dark Moon smiled, "Me too, but mother says if I plan to be back by Winter   
Festival I should get going."  
  
"Yes, and Serenity is always right." He paused for a second collecting his   
thoughts. "Charity, hunny, I have a favor I need to ask of you."  
  
"Sure, dad, anything."  
  
Ryan sighed and wished he didn't have a commitment to his kingdom.   
"Charity, I know you had plans for Winter Festival, but I need you to do  
something important for me." He paused for a second then continued, "The  
council of Kings thinks that Beryl will attack during Winter Festival, I  
need to keep the calm front for the kingdom. Just in case she doesn't  
attack, but I can't risk losing the castle. I need you to stay here and protect  
your mother and the castle."  
  
Dark Moon gave a mental cry, Winter Festival was the only time she had   
left, she was just like any normal person. She needed free time, and she  
wasn't   
being given any, but she couldn't turn down her father. Trying to hide the  
pain from her voice she answered, "I'll do it dad. If I'm the only one who  
can, I will."  
  
He forced a smile, he had heard the pain, and he was wishing there was   
something he could do so she could have fun at Winter Festival. Hugging  
her he   
said, "You better get going. Your mother already made sure that Earth was   
expecting you."  
  
She nodded, she could use the time the trip would take to think. "I'll see  
you when I get back daddy."  
  
  
  



	2. Book 1 - Chapter 1

3-9-01  
Legend of the Dark Moon - Book 1 - Chapter 1  
By Sailor Heartache  
  
Every soul is like a puzzle with three pieces. The first piece is the one that belongs to the owner of the body, the second belongs to that of the person's true love, and the third in some ways is most important. The third piece is that of a friend, the one friend that you can tell anything to without fear of betrayal.   
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Earth Landing Site  
  
Princess Charity of the Moon and Vesper stepped off her ship. Sometime during the voyage she had changed back from her Dark Moon form, and now stood meeting the ambassadors of earth in a pale blue dress of velvety silk.   
  
Throughout her trip she had been thinking about her new mission. Winter Festival was her favorite time of year, and no matter how much she loved her father, she still couldn't forgive him for what he did. She understood why he had to do it, but still it stung.  
  
With a shake of her head to clear her thoughts, she followed the steps down to the ground to meet the ambassadors who had been sent to meet her.  
  
One of the three ambassadors stepped forward. "Welcome Princess Charity, I have heard great tales about you. My name is Jason, I served with your father during the Earth Revolution."  
  
Jason was a kind man, his face was wrinkled with laugh lines. He had intense brown hair that had not turned gray over the many years since she was born, and he wore a suit of armor that signified he was a knight.  
  
Charity smiled, she had heard many tales of the battle. "I'm pleased to meet you, Jason. If you'd like to share some of your stories with me I'd be very pleased to listen."  
  
Jason smiled and his eyes lit up, "I would be glad to, your majesty."  
  
Jason stepped back and the second of the five moved into his place, "I'm Lord Philip."  
  
This man had a harsh look about him. His blond hair was streaked with gray, and his eyes were a harsh shade of blue. Philip had a certain look on his face, as if he thought this meeting was unimportant and insignificant. He was wearing a blue suit. Charity gave a mental shudder and decided to ignore this man for the rest of her visit.  
  
Philip stepped back and a third man took his place. This one was dressed like a prince, only wearing the most expensive clothing and jewelry. He was different from the other two; his eyes were lonely and sad. With a small smile he bowed to her, "Welcome Princess Charity. I have heard a great deal of you from your father, I'm Prince Endymion of Earth."  
  
Charity's smile grew; she wanted to become friends with this man before she left, he had the same look in his eyes that she had so often seen within her own. "I have heard tales of you, and I thank you for the welcome."  
  
He nodded and smiled a little wider; he too could see the loneliness in her eyes. Maybe she would be able to understand him.   
^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
The day went by quickly for Charity, she was formally welcomed at a dinner in her honor. Where she was introduced to the Queen, some important lords, and the King. But most of dinner was spent listening to Jason and the King tell her stories of what her father was like when he fought in the Earth Civil War.  
  
The tales were amazing; he sounded a lot like a hero instead of her father. And without her even noticing the evening flew by, she didn't even notice the stiff formality that she was forced to use at such occasions. The Earth palace was kind and friendly, a different turn from her other trips.  
  
After breakfast the next morning she found herself riding horses with Prince Endymion. They were very wary of each other at first, but slowly began to warm to her as the topic of flowers came up: lilies were her favorite, and roses were his.  
  
Each side seemed to want to hide their soul from the other, and their loneliness touched the other. Charity saw that he could understand why she did certain things. Endymion saw that Charity was a good listener, and would stop whatever she was doing to make sure she understood all that a person wanted to tell her. Both wanted a friend and each seemed to have found one in the other.  
  
"Charity, why do you make delegation trips? I never heard of princesses doing that before." Over the day Endymion had become good friends with her, and found he could relate almost anything.   
  
Charity sighed, "Well, I'm a princess without a kingdom. With no land to tie me down, I'm the perfect ambassador. Though my friends all hate the idea and so do my sisters. I'm hardly ever at home."  
  
"What are your sisters like? I've heard they're both beautiful and smart." He didn't have the slightest interest in the girls. He merely was curious.  
  
"Serenity is the beautiful one, her hair is as golden as a pot of gold, and her skin is as fair as the whitest lily. Alexandra and I are identical, except her skin is a little lighter then mine, and so is her hair." Charity smiled to herself, Endymion and Serenity would make a handsome couple!  
  
"My turn!" Charity continued, "When I met you for the first time I could sense that you were lonely, why?"  
  
Endymion frowned, he knew she was perceptive, but only one other person had managed to see that deep into his soul. "I don't know, I guess it's the territory. Being a prince does take away from private time. You're lucky you don't have a kingdom. What about you? I sensed the same thing from you."  
  
Charity smiled, but it was filled with bitterness. "I guess there's a lot of things. The first, and most obvious, is the fact that I'm always traveling. I hardly have any friends. I guess though that's not much of a problem."  
  
The sadness in her voice was evident, and Endymion felt sorry for her. She had it much harder then he ever had or ever would. "Go on."  
  
"Two is a lot harder to explain. It's just sometimes I get jealous of Serenity and Alexandra, they're both beautiful and smart. They're a lot luckier then they think, at least they get to date." She knew she sounded selfish, but she needed to get it off her chest.  
  
"There's nothing wrong with that. I think it's expected of triplets. You're too alike not to be jealous of each other."   
  
She smiled thankfully. She hated being selfish, which was the main reason she had never told anyone. "Three is the last and easiest reason to understand. I'm Dark Moon, the most powerful being in our universe. Have you ever heard of Winter Festival?"  
  
Endymion nodded, "Sure, it's when the citizens all come to the capital and   
celebrate the harvesting of crops."  
  
"Yes, and the Royal Family gets to join, and get treated like normal people." She paused, "Winter Festival is my favorite time of year, it's the one time I get to be normal, but this year I don't get to go. Instead I get to protect our castle from Beryl."  
  
Endymion nodded, he had heard the stories of Beryl, and he knew most of them were true. "Why you? Aren't the Sailor Senshi meant to deal with things like that?"  
  
"You're good in your studies aren't you?" Smiling slightly she answered, "They are, but Winter Festival is a special time of year. All the princes and princesses are expected to be there, including the sailor senshi. The Kings all decided that Dark Moon would be a better alternative then alerting the entire kingdom that a threat might be upon them. So here I am, protecting the castle."  
  
"Won't they expect you to be there too?"   
  
Smiling sadly she said, "They will, but it would not set off as great of an alarm as the senshi not attending."  
  
"We're a sad pair aren't we?"  
  
Giggling she answered, "Yes, but we'll always be friends."  
  
"Yes, always."  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Moon Kingdom- 3 days later  
  
"My lord! We've lost Beryl." The King of Mercury stated in a solemn voice.  
  
"What? How? I thought we had everyone available working on that!" Ryan   
shouted.  
  
"We did Ryan! She's too powerful now! She escaped our systems easily, and now she could be anywhere!" Paul of Venus said in frustration.  
  
The kings were tired of the Beryl issue; everyone who knew of it was, and they knew sometime soon they would have to deal with her once and for all.  
  
Ryan sighed. His frustration had gotten the better of him. "I'm sorry, but we've got to track her down. I want every possible person on it." He turned to the courier that stood by the door. "Go to Neptune and Mars tell them to search the alliance for Lady Beryl."  
  
The courier nodded, and left as fast as he was summoned.  
  
"What about Dark Moon? Will she be ready for this fight?" The king of Uranus asked.  
  
Ryan nodded, "She'll be ready, but let's hope it doesn't happen."  
  
The kings nodded, the meeting was adjourned.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Royal Earth Garden  
  
"Endy, why are their so many different colors of roses?" Charity questioned.  
  
Endymion smiled. Charity was the kind of person who wanted to know about   
everything. "There's an old legend that says the goddess of the moon, Selene, grew terribly sad during a fight with her lover. Her tears rained on the earth and landed on the different roses changing their color forever."   
  
"If she was sad then why are red roses the color of true love?"  
  
"If I remember right, a few days after their fight he brought her a bundle of the precious red roses, and after that they never fought again."  
  
Charity sighed happily, "That was so sweet. How do you know so much about   
roses?"  
  
"I don't know, I've always been a little obsessed with them. When I was little I began reading up on them, and I guess that's how I know so much."  
  
She smiled in agreement and bent over to smell the roses. Their smell was so wonderful, almost like a mix of moon lilies and perfume, it was both intoxicating and lovely. "Serenity would love these."  
  
"Don't you miss them, Charity?" He paused a second and reworded his question. "I mean don't you ever just want to rush home and not leave again?"   
  
Charity's smile faded just a little bit, "Sure, wouldn't you? But I can't, this is my calling, and at the moment it's the only thing I'm good at..."  
  
So that's what it was! For days Endymion had felt something nagging him,   
something that had to do with Charity. He should have known what it was, she had almost told him the first day they rode together.  
  
"Charity, you don't feel like you're useless do you?" Endymion's voice was almost inaudible.  
  
She looked down, and answered just as softly as he had. "Am I not? Really Endy, have you seen me do anything here that somebody else wouldn't have been able to do? Sure, I'm Dark Moon, but how does that ever help ME? It's almost as if she's a whole different person."  
  
Endymion walked over to her and put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to look in his eyes. "Listen to me, Charity, you know better than this! I'm going to tell you something that your father told me when I was little. 'Don't be afraid to do what others can not or will not, just be yourself'. Charity, you're trying to hide yourself, you're trying to be what everybody else wants you to be. Just be yourself."  
  
Charity let the advice sink in. That was the first time she had even realized what she was really doing. She was afraid to be herself, afraid that everybody would hate her, afraid that maybe she wasn't really a good princess. But even to Charity the advice made since, she couldn't hide herself, and from that point on she swore to be only herself.  
  
"Thank you, Endy. You're the best!"  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Earth Palace- Meeting 1  
  
"Princess Charity, why do you think it is so important for the Golden Kingdom to join into the Silver Alliance? Your people are happy but your society depends on magic and as you know ours despises the very use of it." King Stephan questioned.  
  
"That's true, your highness. Magic is what keeps our planets alive, but what is it that earth sees in magic that is so despicable?" She returned.  
  
For once the king looked stunned, "Magic is an unfair advantage, if magic were used on battle fields than magicians would have an advantage over regular citizens."  
  
"Your highness, I beg to differ, many of the outer universes use magic in their armies and in their military, by not using it your putting yourself at a disadvantage." She paused for a second, "By joining the Alliance you may have to accept the use of magic, but you would also gain a new weapon."  
  
"I see your point, Princess, but what of your court? Shall we have to send young Princess Terra to join it, or shall we be exempt?" He said, picking a new topic.  
  
She sighed, "We can not exempt you from it, but we can let you decide whether you would like to put your daughter into the outer legion of senshi or the inner, my court."   
  
"What of taxes? Will our taxes be raised by joining?"  
  
"No, if anything they'll be lowered."  
  
She could see that Stephan was beginning to tire, "Your highness, why don't we continue this meeting tomorrow after breakfast?"  
  
His face relaxed, "Thank you young princess." He stood and turned again to face her, "Your father would be proud of you if he could see what good your doing."  
  
She blushed, "Thank you."  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
The Royal Earth Gardens  
  
Charity wandered around the garden aimlessly, the smell of flowers made her feel relaxed and at home. Each flower's scent was special in its own way, and she could name every one of them.  
  
She was worried. Stephan had tired so easily during the negotiations that she was sure that he was sick. It bothered her, because ever since she was little, she had been able to tell when others were sick, and most of the time she could even tell what they had. Stephan was different; whatever it was that he was suffering from was new. Some disease she had yet to encounter, and she didn't like the feeling.  
  
Charity bent down to smell a tulip, the earth had so many different kinds of flowers that would not grow on planets in the Alliance.  
  
Her thoughts shifted back to Stephan, she liked his warm personality and caring thoughts. She didn't want to see him die. For the last few minutes she had been trying to decide whether or not she should try to heal him, if she did there was a possibility of him getting better, but if not, well she didn't want to think of that.  
  
Most of all she wasn't sure if he would let her heal him. As she knew he despised the workings of magic, and would probably turn her away before she even had the chance. Then again, his own son was the protector of earth, and controlled all the power it choose to give him.  
  
There was a chance she wouldn't be able to help him anyway. That would be   
her worst failure yet, but she had to try. She couldn't let him die.   
  
With renewed strength she decided to talk with the king first thing in the   
morning. Maybe, he would allow her to try, if not she would think of something else.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
The Next Morning - King Stephan's Rooms  
  
The knocking at the door startled King Stephan from his usual morning   
daydreams. He just wasn't a morning person.   
  
"Come in!"   
  
Charity smiled apologetically at having disturbed him, "I'm sorry, your highness. I needed to talk to you about something. Privately."  
  
He smiled, "Sure. Why don't you join me for breakfast?"  
  
Her smile widened, "I'd love to." She pulled out a chair and joined him at the table. "How do you feel, your majesty?"  
  
"Let's lose the 'your majesty', okay? I feel silly having you call me that." He paused and looked her over thoughtfully, "You know don't you?"  
  
She gave him a confused look.  
  
His smile disappeared a little, "You know that I'm sick. You know that it's very serious. You're afraid to let me die."  
  
She got an angry look on her face, "I don't let anybody die. I always fight."   
She paused and continued softly, "I don't let people die, not if I can heal them. I won't let you die."   
  
His gaze softened, "I can understand that. You're a fighter, you don't like sitting around not being able to do anything. But I know I'm going to die." He paused, "You know of the golden crystal?"  
  
She nodded, "It was discovered by Endymion, right? Right after the Golden   
Kingdom was established. Legend tells it holds extraordinary power, only matched by my sister's silver crystal."   
  
"Yes. I'm the current controller of the golden crystal. Did your sister ever tell you what happened when the silver crystal was given to her?" He asked.  
  
"No, I was there. All she told me was that she saw visions."  
  
He nodded, "Yes, she saw visions of her future. Since your family is immortal she did not see her death, only what is to come. But I am mortal. I saw my death. I saw when and how I would die."  
  
Charity gasped, he had known all his life that he would die from this disease. Whatever it was would be the end of him. The thought was almost horrifying, living your life knowing exactly when and where you would die.  
  
"Don't look like that. It's not that bad, it helps you realize that the time you do spend living is worth it. Plus, you're always able to say your good byes." He interrupted her thoughts.  
  
"But doesn't it make you sad? Knowing that you're going to leave your family behind?"   
  
He smiled sadly, "Of course, but I know they'll be alright. That's why I'm trying to finish this treaty before I die. So that the Silver Alliance will be able to help Endymion become a good king."  
  
"How long do you have left?" Her voice cracked with sadness.  
  
"Less time then I would like. I have only a week."   
  
Her eyes widened with horror, sure she had known he was ill, but she hadn't known he was that ill. "Isn't there anything I can do?"  
  
He nodded slowly, "Let us finish the treaty negotiations privately. I'll need for you to give me energy ever so often."  
  
She closed her eyes in pain, her soul screaming out wishing that she could help him. If this was what he wanted she would gladly help him through his last days. "Yes, I'll be happy to."  
  
He smiled, "Thank you, I will be eternally grateful. I have two last requests, the first I'll tell you now. Please do not tell my family, I know how close you and Endymion have become, comfort him when I die."  
  
The tears she had been trying so long to hold back came rushing down, and she sobbed into his shoulder. He was like a father to her, and she was going to let him die. For once in her life she wasn't going to fight, and she knew she would regret it.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
King Stephan's Rooms: Meeting 2  
  
Charity hesitantly put a hand on King Stephan's forehead, and without a thought transferred some of her energy into him. The after effect was amazing, even in Stephan's condition he was able to move around without tiring.  
  
"Thank you, Charity. Now you must promise, truly promise, that no matter what the circumstance is you will never try to heal me. Never!" Stephan demanded. "I know you've been thinking about it, I can see it in your eyes. There is a reason why I must die now. We may never understand what it is, but there is a reason."  
  
To Charity's ears, Stephan's last sentence seemed to reassure him, and for some reason she seemed to see him doubt himself. But she knew she wouldn't defy his word, if he didn't wish to be healed, she would not heal him. "I promise."  
  
He smiled, though it failed to reach his eyes, "Good, now lets continue. We don't have much time."  
  
Charity nodded, and vowed to herself to make this as short as possible. "First, we must decide if the Earth is willing provide a princess or representative into my sister's court."  
  
Stephan nodded, "Yes, we will, but it will not be Terra. She's too weak, and too frail. But I do have someone in mind for the position. That we will discuss later."  
  
Charity nodded, all she need to was affirm the position. "Do you have any   
objections to become part of the King's council?"   
  
"No."   
  
Again she nodded, "You realize that you will have to give up your fears against magic?"  
  
He nodded.  
  
"You realize that by becoming part of the Silver Alliance you have to honor all treaties that we have already negotiated?"  
  
Another nod.  
  
And so the questions went on. Charity left out as much as possible, if any question was minor then it didn't get asked. And even though Charity had been able to give him her energy twice that day she knew there wouldn't be any way to give it a third time. Not with as much as she had to give to him.  
  
When she was done with the questions she said good night to him and made sure he went to bed. She was sure he would need all the energy he could get to get through the next two days.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Charity's Rooms  
  
Charity frowned deeply, she was too weak to try and do anything but think, and the thoughts that were coming to her weren't that pleasant. She'd been avoiding Endymion ever since she found out Stephan's secret. She just couldn't stand being near him and keeping something from him.  
  
Plus every time she tried to give Stephan some of her strength his disease sucked more out of her. But she was beginning to think that whatever was wrong with Stephan was not an illness.  
  
She knew that he knew what it was, and she figured he knew something she   
didn't, and she was scared. Charity hated when people died, she hated when she had to watch people suffer. And she knew without asking that Stephan was suffering.  
  
For the last two days she had been trying to kill his pain while giving him strength, but she wouldn't be able to tomorrow. Giving him strength constantly for two days had worn her out, and for the last few nights she hadn't been able to sleep at all. She only had dreams of death.  
  
"You look kinda down. What's wrong?"   
  
Charity jumped, startled out of her thoughts to see Endymion standing next to her.  
  
"Sorry, I knocked twice and you didn't answer. What's wrong?" Endymion sat down next to her, his eyes worried.  
  
She pasted on a fake smile hoping to deceive him, "Nothing, why would anything be wrong?"  
  
"Maybe because you've been ignoring me for the last two days, and because   
you can't lie." He replied.  
  
Charity sighed, she knew he was right, she couldn't lie. "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you, but you'll find out why soon enough."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"I don't know, but take it as a prophecy."  
  
Endymion raised an eyebrow, "Prophecy? You're really starting to worry me. And what's this I hear about you and Dad having meetings privately in his bedroom?"  
  
Endymion's eyes held an accusing glare,.  
  
"OH PERVERT! DON'T EVEN THINK LIKE THAT!" Charity cringed and punched him in the arm.   
  
He chuckled and rubbed his arm, "Gee, I didn't mean it! Really though, why   
have you been in there?"  
  
She rubbed her temples trying to think up an answer that wouldn't give anything away. "We've been doing our negotiations in there?"  
  
He shook his head, "Something's going on and you guys aren't telling me."  
  
She sighed unhappily, "I'm sorry. I promised I wouldn't tell."  
  
He looked at her for a minute his eyes searching for some kind of answer. "I understand. I just wish you guys wouldn't keep secrets from me."  
  
He looked scared, and she knew he had a right to be. "Don't worry he knows what he's doing." 'I hope'  
  
He smiled slightly, "I know. But he only keeps secrets when he knows the news will hurt me."  
  
Charity shook her head, if only he would tell his family the truth.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Stephan's Rooms - Meeting 3  
  
"Okay, this is the last meeting before the signing. Is there anything you need to add?" Charity asked as she finished asking the questions she had written on paper.  
  
He shook his head, "No. I just need to talk to you for a few minutes. Whatever I tell you must never leave this room."  
  
She nodded, and was pretty sure she wasn't going to like this information.  
  
"As I told you we need a representative in your sister's court. I'd like for that to be you. No, don't say anything yet. I can't send Terra, she can barely leave her bed all day without collapsing. She just doesn't have enough strength to become the senshi of Earth." He paused for a second, pondering something, "I'd like for you to have the powers of Earth, but not to become its senshi. Do you understand?"  
  
She looked up at him confused, "Yes, you want me to be able to use it's power like I use Dark Moon, without having to transform." He nodded, "But why me? I'm not even from Earth. Won't your people be concerned?"  
  
He looked up at her, "No, my people will never know. I want you to be able to protect my planet without them knowing. They don't know nor understand magic, and if we all the sudden began using it they would become suspicious and might rebel against the government."  
  
She nodded, "Yes, but I'm guessing that's not the favor."  
  
He shook his head, "No, the favor is a bit more complicated." He stood up and walked over to the window, "I want you to protect Endymion."  
  
Charity sat down hard, "You want ME to protect Endymion?"  
  
He glanced at her for a second, "You and Endymion have a link, a special link. No matter how far away from each other you will always know if he's in trouble. You're by far the most powerful person in the universe, and Endymion is the key to our future. I know I've seen it."  
  
He looked her straight in the eyes, "You and Endymion have to live in order for the future to continue. You can't die, I won't tell you why, you'll have to find that out on your own, but Endymion can and you must protect him."  
  
He turned back to the window, "Ryan told me how you are the protector of the Sailor Senshi." He heard her gasp, "I know nobody but you and him know, but something bigger then you can ever imagine is going to happen and you have to go through it together."  
  
His voice dropped, "I want to make sure that Endymion will be alright without me, I know you can help him. Please, if you won't do this for yourself then do it for me." As he finished the last sentence he bowed before her.  
  
Charity was still in shock, though he knew he only had to demand it as part of the treaty he hadn't. Charity had respect for that, and she knew she couldn't and wouldn't turn him down. Endymion meant a lot to her anyway, "I'll do it happily. On one condition. You spend your last day with your family. Endymion's worried sick already, and he doesn't have clue what to worry about."  
  
He nodded sadly, "I agree, but remember you can never let word of this leave this room. The only person you can tell is Endymion himself."  
  
"Not even my sisters?"   
  
"Not even your sisters."  
  
"Good, now I'll go find Endymion and a few witnesses so we can sign this treaty." She replied.  
  
And so the treaty with Earth was formally signed, and Earth became a part of the Silver Alliance. And its power was given to Princess Charity of the Moon Kingdom and Vesper.   
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
King Stephan's last day on Earth was spent with his family. From what Charity could tell they did everything imaginable. From horse riding to swimming to just laying back. And by the end of the day everybody was crying. Even Charity.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Earth Royal Gardens: After Stephan's death  
  
  
Endymion found her sitting on a bench next to the rose bushes, she was trying her hardest to hide, but for some reason if he thought about her he could find her easily. The information just came to his mind.  
  
She was crying softly, trying to think of anything but Stephan's death, but the news hung over everything like a wet cloth. She felt his arms slide around her shoulder, but it didn't startle her; she had known he was there. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did.  
  
"WHY? WHY WOULDN'T HE LET ME HEAL HIM?" She was screaming at no one, but   
she had to get it out.  
  
He was crying himself, his eyes puffy from long hours of crying. "It wasn't your fault, when you promise him something you don't turn against him. It was what he wanted."  
  
"Then why do I feel like it is?" She mumbled still sobbing.  
  
"Because you know you could have helped him, only he wouldn't let you. Just like I do." He said.  
  
"Do you blame me? I could have healed him, I know I could have."  
  
He shook his head, "No, I can't blame you. I know you would have done it, I know you would've if he'd let you."  
  
"Did he tell you before he died?" She asked.  
  
He looked at her confused, "Tell me what?"  
  
"I'm you protector. I've sworn that I'd protect you as long as I live." She said, drying her eyes.  
  
His eyes widened, "You mean, you're going to protect me for the rest of my life?"  
  
She nodded, "Yes, and don't think I did it because he asked me. I did it because I wanted to. So, your highness, I must leave tomorrow. I still have to stop at Mercury before going home."  
  
He nodded still in shock. "If you must, but please come back after Winter Festival for my coronation."  
  
"I will, but you father said to be sure we never told anyone that I'm your   
protector." She said.He nodded his thoughts elsewhere, "Yeah, sure."  
  
With a sigh, she stood up and went to her room to pack.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Launch Pad - Charity's Leaving  
  
"You'll be back right?" Endymion asked hesitantly.  
  
She smiled, "I'll be back, but try to stay in one piece okay? If you do I'll bring Serenity with me okay?"  
  
She'd been trying to cheer him up all day, when she arrived at breakfast he'd been crying on the table. His eyes were still red and puffy, and it made her heart break to see him upset.  
  
She gave him a hug and promised to come back before moving on to Jason.   
He'd taken the news as hard as Endymion, and had barely made it to the takeoff.   
"Jason, try to remember he wouldn't want you to be sad."  
  
He smiled, "I know your highness. I just miss him. When you come back I'm sure I'll be better."  
  
She nodded, and hugged both him and Endymion. Then boarded her ship. It   
was time to go to Mercury.  



	3. Book 1 - Chapter 2

Legend of the Dark Moon – Book 1 - Chapter 2  
By Sailor Heartache  
Princess Serenity of the Moon Kingdom walked briskly down the main corridor of   
the palace heading towards the throne room where she was to meet her parents. She   
was tired of social events, the only thing that ever happened in them was when some   
stuck up snob would ask her if she was naturally so thin. Royals annoyed her.  
Plus the fact that she'd been under a lot of stress lately, she'd stayed up the last   
three days wondering how Charity was doing; her sister had failed to communicate with   
anyone. Serenity sighed ungracefully; she seemed to be worrying a lot lately.   
Her father had been distant, and even though he didn't say it Serenity knew that   
he was waiting for an attack by Beryl. Sometimes she even wondered if that was the   
reason that Charity had been avoiding contact with them, but why would her sister do   
something like that?  
She'd been trying for days to talk with her telepathically, but Charity had blocked   
both her and Alexandra. Neither was happy with the fact, but they'd tried to forget it   
because they didn't want their parents wondering.  
Her eyes scanned the garden that the corridor ran parallel to; it was so beautiful   
and tranquil. So opposite her own emotions, yet she still seemed serene, she'd learned   
the hard way that emotions were better when left hidden. She wished life could be   
more like the garden, she wouldn't mind living like that.  
But the tranquility of the moment was squashed as one of the servants rushed   
forward bowing hastily and sputtering apologies for interrupting her during her walk.   
Serenity calmed him down quickly by saying, "Don't worry, sir. I'm sure what ever you   
have to say is very important."  
The servant nodded, making one last bow. "It is Your Highness! The captain of the   
Moonlight has sent an urgent message to the king. Only the king can not be found!"  
Serenity tried to calm him down again, but the servant was too busy trying to tell   
her what happened then to listen to her.   
"Your highness, the Princess Charity has disappeared! She vanished from her ship!   
You must talk with the captain! The king and queen can not be found!"   
The servant finally finished his tale and Serenity smiled serenely at him, but even   
though she smiled she was scared inside. "Sir, I would like you to go find Princess   
Alexandra for me, and what ever you do, do not tell the King and Queen of this incident.   
They have enough to worry about right now."  
The servant looked at her hesitantly before agreeing and exiting to find   
Alexandra.  
She stared after him until he had totally disappeared from her view. Finally she   
continued her walk, this time heading for the communication room. She'd needed to   
talk with the captain of the Moonlight, but she was already pretty sure where her sister   
had gone.  
Charity had a habit of disappearing into places where she could be treated like   
anyone else. She hated be stuck in pretty dresses and stuffy rooms. She was almost as   
much of a tomboy as Princess Uranus, but where as Uranus wouldn't wear a dress unless   
Neptune literally wrestled her into it; Charity did have her own feminine side. She   
enjoyed doing cross-stitching, but would rather be riding horses and shooting arrows then   
be attending a formal function.  
And Serenity was fairly certain that today was the Mercury Market day, and   
knowing Charity she'd want to be there where she could see everyone enjoying   
themselves and having fun. In fact, Serenity knew she had to be there, because for one   
of the few times in the last week she could actually feel Charity's happiness.  
She opened the door to the communications room only to find a hologram of   
what must be the captain of the Moonlight pacing around the room. Serenity almost   
giggled at it, but she knew that wouldn't be wise at the moment. Instead she spoke,   
"Captain."  
The captain turned around quite flustered at being caught pacing and bowed to   
her, "Captain Andros, your highness."  
Serenity nodded, "Captain Andros, before you begin with your apologies I would   
first like to tell you that this is not your fault. I'm afraid Charity does have a bit of an   
independent streak."  
Andros nodded, "Yes, your highness. Right after the servant was dispatched to   
find you we found a note the Princess had left. It simply says not to worry."  
"Have you told the Mercurian castle of your arrival yet?" Serenity questioned.  
"No, Princess. We were waiting for orders from the royal family." He answered.  
Serenity smiled, "Don't worry, captain. I don't want you to do anything. Do not   
alert the castle yet, Charity should be back by nightfall, if not then I want you to get   
back in touch with me. Understood?"  
The hologram nodded and bowed again before disappearing.   
Serenity sighed and leaned against one of the walls. Now all she had to do was   
wait for Alexandra, and explain the whole thing. The thought brought another sigh to her   
lips. The social event forgotten the rest of the afternoon would be spent waiting for word   
from the Moonlight.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
The girl in question was having the time of her life. She'd already bought gifts for   
her sisters and parents, and for once she didn't feel lonely. All around her the people of   
the planet of Mercury were shopping, trading, and just having fun. It's amazing how the   
smallest things could mean a lot.  
Princess Charity had snuck out of her ship around dawn that morning, and had   
been walking around for most of the day. She'd never seen so many kinds of pastry,   
jewelry, and pottery in one place.  
She was dressed simply, in a black peasant dress and a matching hooded cloak,   
so not to stand out in the crowd. For extra precautions she'd hidden her royal birthmark   
with a little bit of magic, she didn't want to be caught.  
The streets were packed with tourists and citizens, but like any other place they   
still had the homeless wondering around eying the tasty treats with their mouths open.   
Charity had seen one staring at a loaf of bread, not even a big loaf, drooling. She'd only   
thought about it a moment before going to the vender and buying it.  
Charity turned to the little boy and handed him the loaf of bread. At first he only   
looked at it in wonder before taking it slowly and eating it twice as fast as she had ever   
even seen Serenity eat. It made her wonder when the last time this boy ate was.  
"Thank you, ma'am." The young boy said, his eyes filled with tears. "My mama   
was fired from her job last week, we can't afford food."  
Charity's eyes widened under the hood of her cloak, she imagined this was why   
she was here in the first place. "Don't worry son, take this money to your mother."  
The boy's eyes widened twice the width of their sockets and he ran off thanking   
her gratefully for the small amount of money that was in his hands.   
Charity watched him as he disappeared into the crowd of buyers and sellers, and   
wished she had more money to give him, but she'd spent most of what she'd brought   
with her already. She hoped she'd be able to do something to help him out later.  
Her thoughts stopped abruptly as she heard the boy scream from within the   
crowd. At first she stayed where she was, frozen in place, but quickly she followed the   
sound of his screams as she moved through the crowd. It was a hard thing to do with the   
citizens already curious as to why someone was screaming, and she had to push and pull   
apologizing as she went.  
What she saw when she reached the front of the crowd confused her greatly.   
The young boy was being restrained by what looked like military soldiers, and a man that   
was dressed richly was screaming at the guards to hold him back. For a moment she   
stood there trying to figure out what was going on before she walked up to one of the   
younger looking solders and asked.  
"Lord Meren, says the boy stole money from him, and we found two gold nobles   
on the boy. The boy says he was given the money by a lady." The guard quieted down   
at the captain looked his way.  
Charity looked over the man whom she presumed was Meren, he looked like a   
man who would assume that a boy carrying a large amount of money must have stole it.   
Sometimes she thought nobles were just stuck up and pompous.  
Her eyes traveled over the scene, the lord was still screaming at the captain and   
he seemed to be ignoring him completely. The boy had stopped screaming and had   
started crying as a guard tried to take the money from him. Charity bit her bottom lip   
she couldn't let them take the boy away, but she didn't want to expose herself.  
She walked up to the captain her eyes staying on the lord, "Captain, may I ask   
why the boy is being taken?"  
Charity hoped the Captain was nice, if not she'd have to do this the hard way.   
But the captain smiled at her, "Young lady, Lord Meren has accused him of stealing. We   
must take him to the Lord Provost for punishment."  
She looked up at him, being careful that he didn't see her face. "But, Captain I   
gave the boy two nobles for his mother."  
The captain looked up startled, but the lord was quick with a retort. "You?   
Where would you get two gold nobles? You're obviously a peasant."  
Charity bit her tongue to keep from throwing an insult at him. "My lord, are you   
sure you're missing any money? Ask the boy, I gave him that money."  
The boy had been paying attention as soon as he saw her approach and at the   
comment he quickly agreed. The captain was torn between what she was telling him   
and what the lord was trying to get him to do. The crowd had gone quiet, and was   
watching with growing attention. One man stood out though, he too was dressed in a   
cloak, but unlike the rest of the crowd you couldn't see his eyes staring at the three of   
them.  
Lord Meren was in a rage, "Are you telling me that I'm lying? Do you know how   
long I could throw you in jail for?"  
Charity mouth drew up in smirk, but no one could see. "No, my lord. I do not,   
and nor do I care."  
Charity watched as the man in the cloak shook with laughter at her sarcastic   
remark, but the rest of the crowd drew in a breath. She wondered how long Lord Meren   
had been threatening and insulting peasants. "I wouldn't try it either."  
She was far beyond caring whether her cover was blown or not, this man was   
infuriating. He made her want to punch him, but she was a lady and she'd been taught   
better.  
Obviously the lord had not, he rolled his hand into a fist and looked as if he was   
about to punch her. "Are you threatening me, peasant?"  
She giggled, a sound that made the cloaked man in the crowd think of silver   
bells, and she replied. "No, my lord. If I was you would know it." The thought made her   
wonder how many people had ever stood up to this man. Even the captain looked a   
little scared of him.  
Lord Meren obviously wasn't used to it. Just as she finished thinking she saw his fist   
coming towards her, and without a second thought she caught it before it could smash   
into her face. Shocked the lord stared at her, and then the thought processed and   
began screaming at the captain. "You saw that Captain! Throw her in with the boy! She   
threatened me and tried to assassinate me!"  
The man in the cloak began to take a step forward but stopped abruptly as she   
held her hand up to him, silently asking him to let her take care of it. She wasn't to sure   
who he was, but he seemed to be in a position like hers.  
Just as the captain reached out to take her arm she spoke, "Captain, I wouldn't   
do that if I were you."  
The captain stopped and looked up at her his eyes filled with sympathy, "I'm   
sorry, you remind me of my daughter. I truly wish I didn't have to do this, but unless   
someone over throws his command I must obey it."  
She smiled back at him though he still couldn't see it, "Then I shall over throw it."   
She paused for a second and took the hood of the cloak off her head revealing her dark   
hair that had been put up in a ponytail for the day. "As the Supreme Princess of the   
Moon Kingdom, Princess Charity, I order you to let the boy go, and take Lord Meren into   
custody until I sentence him." She turned to Lord Meren who stood shocked, "That is an   
Imperial Command."  
Everybody stood still nothing moved, not even the man in the cloak. But Lord   
Meren stood disbelieving, "You are not Princess Charity, you do not have the mark of the   
moon and stars on your forehead."  
She glared at him before looking up at the sky. "Mark of the stars revive upon my   
forehead and join with that of the Moon."  
A bright light brighter than anything Lord Meren had ever seen before lit up the   
sky, and the mark he had been arguing about was now on her forehead shining brightly.   
And the Princess of the Moon and Stars was quite angry, he had forced her to end her   
good day and return to the life of a noble. "I do hope you'll be happy in jail, Lord   
Meren."  
The Captain smiled happily and took the lord into custody, ordering the boy be   
let free. The soldier who had been holding the boy had long ago let go of him in shock,   
but the boy took the money from his hands and ran to the princess who had just saved   
his life.  
Charity watched him approach his eyes wide open in awe and bent down so   
that she could look in his eyes, "I suppose you're a little shocked aren't you?" She   
giggled and the man in the crowd awakened from his shocked state and stared at the   
princess again.  
The boy smiled, "Are you really a Princess?"   
She smiled, "Yes, I am. My name is Charity, what's yours?"  
"Osito."  
Her smile widened, "Well, Osito, I promise to find your mother a job, okay? Until   
then I want you to use that money wisely, and take care of your mother."  
He nodded, "Yes, your highness."  
Charity made a face, "And we were having such a nice conversation," she   
sighed. "Tell your mother to come to the palace tomorrow morning alright?"  
The boy's face lit up, "Could I come and visit you? Please?"  
She giggled at the look on is face, "Sure, why not! Just be there at ten, now run   
home and tell your mother."  
He nodded and ran off for home.  
"That was a very nice thing you did, Princess. I understand why your parents   
named you Charity." The man in the cloak had walked up beside her while she was   
talking to the Osito.  
The man puzzled her, he seemed different from everyone else and he made her   
feel nervous. Just the sound of his voice made her heart quicken, "Thank you, sir." She   
answered shyly. She might have been brave for a few minutes, but bravery for her only   
came in the face of danger.  
He looked down at her his face still covered by the hood of the cloak, "Why   
don't we get out of here? I can take you to the palace or to your ship. I'm guessing   
they don't know you're gone?"  
For some reason she felt safe with him, and even though she knew she shouldn't   
go anywhere with him without even knowing his name she agreed. And before she   
knew it they were on his horse and riding away from the screaming crowd.  
As soon as they got on the outskirts of the city he stopped the horse and they   
began to walk. "Where would you like me to take you, Princess?"  
Charity smiled at him, "Please don't call me that! Call me Charity, you saved me   
from a crowd of loud people! You're my hero!" She finished over dramatically drawing a   
chuckle from him.  
Charity was confused; she'd never been this open with people before. Not even   
Endymion. "You never told me what your name was? A hero without a name is tragic."  
He laughed again, "I'm Adrian, pleased to meet you Charity."  
Charity smiled, "You sound familiar, I've met you before when I was really little."   
She paused for a second, "You locked me in a closet when I was three, and I was stuck   
there until Serenity and Alexandra finally found me."  
He nodded, "I can't believe you remember that! I was eight, and you pulled my   
hair so I locked you in that closet."  
She giggled, "You're the Crown Prince of Mercury right?"  
He nodded, "Only when I can't avoid it."  
She smiled, "I know the feeling. Where are we headed?"   
He cocked his head, "Your ship. We might as well get it over with, plus the news   
will travel fast."  
She nodded, and never even noticed when he took her hand.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Andros was pacing back and forth in the ship, his eyes traveled from the windows   
to the doors back to the windows. He was worried about Charity; trouble always   
seemed to find her.   
Andros had been with Charity since she started traveling, and he'd been the pilot   
of the Moonlight since before she was even born. While they were traveling Charity   
often thought of him as a second father, and when Ryan had told her she'd have to   
fight Beryl on Midwinter Festival she'd cried on his shoulder.  
He'd always worried about Charity; she was independent and shy. A   
combination that didn't go well together. For the last year he'd been watching as she   
lured in more suitors then even Serenity, but Charity was so quiet and shy that she drove   
away the suitors before they got a chance to know her. He knew she just needed time,   
but he hoped she'd find someone soon.  
His thoughts ended as he returned to his pacing and worrying.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Charity stepped on board the Moonlight, Adrian trailing behind her, and looked   
around. It was around nightfall, and it looked as if the guards had all fallen asleep.   
Knowing Andros he'd made sure they patrolled with every ounce of their strength.   
Thinking of Andros made her realize how much trouble she was going to be in.  
"Beware, I'm about to get the lecture of a lifetime." She whispered in Adrian's   
ear.  
He chuckled, "Well, at least you don't have every peasant and guard tailing you.   
My parents go haywire whenever I disappear."  
She smiled, "Knowing Serenity I bet my parents don't even know I'm gone, but   
Alex is going to be awfully mad."  
He smiled, "They're just trying to protect you."  
She was about to respond before one of the soldiers, who had been woken by   
their voices, jumped up and started shouting. "CAPTAIN! CAPTAIN! PRINCESS CHARITY   
HAS COME BACK!! CAPTAIN!!"  
The captain emerged from one of the doors on the port side of the ship looking   
ruffled and tired. "CHARITY!" He ran at her and hugged her, without even bowing.  
Charity giggled, and looked at him, "You shouldn't worry so much, Andros! I'm   
perfectly fine see? Adrian brought me back in one piece."  
Andros looked up at the young man standing behind her, "Then you must be   
Adrian! I'm Captain Andros of the Moonlight, it's a pleasure to meet you, and thank you   
very much for bringing our Princess back safely!"  
Adrian smiled at the older man, "I think she could have handled it without me,   
but she does make interesting company!"  
Andros looked over at Charity, "What did you do this time?"  
"This time? You mean she's done this before?" Adrian asked shocked, he'd   
known she was a kind person, to risk your life continuously was a little hard to imagine.  
Andros nodded, "When we were on Venus she saw a young girl who was about   
to get hit by a carriage and jumped out in the middle of the road to save her. Last   
Midwinter Festival she jumped in the way of a guy trying to rob a jewelry stand. On   
Jupiter-"  
"Okay! That's enough, Andros!" She was blushing a bright red and was very   
embarrassed, "We have to call Serenity, right?"  
Andros smiled at Adrian, "If you ever want to hear any stories just find me." He   
paused and let Charity take Adrian's hand, "Now come on, we'd better hurry and call   
the palace."  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Serenity and Alexandra had been sitting in Communication Room for hours, and   
had long since quit talking to worry by themselves. Food trays sat along side the hall   
where they'd been left for the two to eat hours ago, but neither of the two had felt much   
like eating.  
A couple of hours ago they'd both felt a jolt of happiness, and for a split second   
Charity had let her guard down. They knew she was fine, and that she was probably was   
okay. Still though she could have been anywhere, and she could walk into trouble at   
any time. It was infuriating.  
"What do you think she's doing?" Alexandra asked from across the room.  
Serenity looked over at her, "I don't know, but I wish she'd finish doing it. This is   
making me crazy."  
Alexandra nodded and went back to thinking silently.  
Serenity looked around, her eyes watched the hologram projection machine   
wishing it would come on already, so she could get out of this stuffy room. And almost as   
if it had heard her it sputtered to life and a hologram of Prince Mercury and Princess   
Charity appeared in the center of the room.  
Charity looked down at the ground ashamed and Prince Mercury bowed to both   
the Princesses. "Hello Princess Serenity, Princess Alexandra."  
Serenity stood up and curtsied, "Hello Prince Mercury. I hope your family is well?"   
He nodded and Charity looked up annoyed, "Why is it that we must say that? It   
sounds almost rude."  
Alexandra and Serenity stared at her shocked for a second. Charity was being   
more out going, and she wasn't acting as shy as normal. Serenity looked over at Prince   
Mercury only to notice his eyes were on Charity.  
"So, where have you been?" Alexandra asked her eyes wide with fury. "You   
realize if Father had heard about this the whole alliance would have been searching for   
you? Mother would've been crying her eyes out."  
Charity looked back down at the ground, "I was at the Market, I need some time   
away from everything, okay? Whether or not you like it there are some things Father   
hides from you."  
Serenity stared at her youngest sister, the conviction which had been in her voice   
was alarming. What was it that Father had asked her to do? Serenity was almost certain   
it had to do with his recent attitude. Her eyes looked to Alexandra who seemed to have   
the same thoughts. Not wanting to make her sister any angrier she decided to change   
the subject. "You'll be back in time for Midwinter Festival right?"  
Charity cringed inwardly, "Yes, but I've something else I have to do. I wont be   
attending the celebration."  
Alexandra gasped, all the Princesses were supposed to attend the festival. She   
was worried, if Charity wasn't going to the festival then she had to have a good reason.   
Dark Moon. The final conclusion.  
Serenity smiled, "Then we'll see you then, alright? Do contact us though, it gets   
lonely without you here."  
Charity smiled at her sisters attempt to cheer her up, "I will, but it might not be   
very often. See you soon."  
The hologram disappeared.  
"What was that all about?" Alexandra asked her sister her eyes more worried   
then when her sister had been missing.  
"I don't know, but I bet Father does. We shouldn't worry." Serenity smiled, "But   
did you see the way Prince Mercury was looking at Charity?"  
Alexandra smiled, "Yes, maybe she'll be married before us."  
"Yes, maybe she will." Serenity finished.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Adrian whistled to himself as he closed the door to his rooms. He was feeling   
delightfully happy. It was almost a weird feeling, he'd never been this happy before.   
Charity just seemed to bring out the best in him.  
Charity. He could still hear her twinkling laughter that rang like silver bells, and he   
could feel his heart speed up whenever he thought about her. What was this feeling? It   
made him feel utterly helpless yet happy and carefree. He felt as if he should go buy   
every flower in the capital just for her, just because she lit up his day.  
For years, Adrian had felt lonely, not physically lonely because he had 4 other   
brothers and sisters, but mentally lonely. It was almost as if he'd been missing something   
for most of his life and had yet to figure out what it was. Charity made that feeling go   
away; she made him feel complete and whole.  
From the first time he'd seen her that afternoon in the market place till right now   
he'd felt like a tiny flame in his heart was beginning to grow. It made him feel   
lighthearted, and as soon as he'd left her in her own room he'd felt as if every ounce of   
warmth in his body had been taken with her. All he wanted to do was run back into the   
room and stay with her forever.  
The strength of his own feelings scared him, the fact that he could care so much   
for someone he had just met was frightening. But he wouldn't trade it for anything in the   
whole world. And suddenly he realized what this feeling was, he was in love with her.   
Totally and helplessly in love with her.  
And his whistling went on as he happily planed every minute of the time she was   
here, and hopefully by the end of the week she'd feel the same way.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Charity smiled happily as she fingered a white rose that had been left by her door   
that morning, most likely by Adrian. For days he'd been taking her places and showing   
her how to have a good time. Charity had never had so much fun in her life.   
She had finished with all of her business days ago, and had asked if it would be   
alright to stay for a little longer. The queen being one of her mother's close friends was   
delighted, and quickly moved her to a more permanent room. Which was coincidently   
next door to Adrian's. It seemed even the queen had seen the love blossoming   
between the Princess and Prince.  
Adrian had been delighted too when he found out that she'd be taking the room   
next to his, and seemed quite puzzled when he entered it one afternoon. He'd made a   
remark about what a good job his mother had done remodeling, Charity had been   
puzzled by the remark.  
For some reason, she didn't feel shy around Adrian she could tell him anything   
without fear of what he would say. He reminded her of Endymion, but she didn't even   
tell Endymion some of the things she told Adrian. They'd sit around for hours on end just   
talking about nothing. He took her horse back riding and every night they'd go for a   
walk in his personal garden.   
He loved flowers as much as her and Endymion; he had lilies, roses, and tulips. For   
some reason though she felt drawn to the white roses, Adrian had told her it was   
because they stood for purity and innocence. She was sure she didn't believe him.  
The past few days had been paradise, and she wasn't sure she ever wanted to   
leave. It wasn't just the way Adrian made her heart speed up, but also how everyone   
else treated her. Queen Alanna made her feel like she was a second mother to her, and   
even the King had been treating her like a daughter. It was almost perfect, but she still   
missed her family.  
She sighed blissfully to her self, she missed him already and she'd seen him an   
hour ago at lunch.  
It was almost as if he'd read her thoughts, because just as she finished thinking   
cold hands covered her eyes and a warm voice asked, "Guess who!"  
She giggled playfully, "Lets see... Captain Andros?"  
Adrian made a rude noise, "Gee, and I thought you wanted to spend the day   
with me." He moved his hands from her eyes and in fake dejection began to walk away.  
She giggled an hugged him, "I do! I do!"   
He smiled; the look she gave him reminded him of a child looking through a   
window at chocolate, "Why don't we go to the gates? Remember that Osito is visiting   
today."  
Charity nodded, "Sure."  
He took her hand and they walked silently to the palace gates to wait for Osito.   
"I heard from mother yesterday. She says that Osito's mother is one of the best maids   
she's had in a while."  
Charity smiled and leaned against his shoulder, "I hope she's happy."   
He smiled back down at her; her kindness was so large it surprised him. "I'm sure   
she is."  
At that moment Osito came bounding through the gates skipping happily and   
carrying a package. "Charity! Adrian!"  
The two waved as he approached, and he thrust the package into Charity's   
arms. "This is from mama, she made it to thank you for your help."  
Charity smiled and opened the package, inside was a small cake with chocolate   
icing. Just looking at it made her want to dig in.  
"Why don't I go get some plates and milk and we can eat it by the lake?" Adrian   
asked, "Okay, you two go ahead down there and I'll meet you there in a few minutes."  
Charity and Osito smiled and ran off towards the lake.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Adrian skipped down the path carrying a picnic basket with plates, silverware,   
and milk inside. He loved spending time with Charity and Osito, it made him feel like they   
were a little family.  
He smiled happily as they came into view: Charity was curtsying to him and he   
was presenting her with a bouquet of wild sunflowers. She smiled and took them from   
him sliding them into her braid. She looked absolutely radiant.  
Osito smiled at her, "You remind me of an angel."  
Adrian almost chuckled at the child's precise description of the creature in front   
of him. And Charity seemed totally shocked, and as soon as she saw him she jumped at   
the chance to change the subject. "Adrian! You brought the plates!"  
He smiled and nodded. And let her cut the cake into three equal pieces putting   
each onto a plate. They all ate their cake, and afterwards they played in the water   
splashing each other and hiding from each other. And by the time that Osito left the sun   
was already going down.  
Adrian stretched his tired muscles and put his arm around Charity's shoulders, he   
was feeling a little nervous about what he had to tell her. "Did you have fun today?"  
She smiled happily, "Yes!" She was about to go on when she felt something, she   
felt uneasy and nervous, but they weren't her emotions. Her eyes widened and she   
looked over at Adrian.  
He was looking the other way, and squeezing her shoulder reassuringly. "I have   
to tell you something Charity." He didn't wait for her approval, "I.. Ever since I met you,   
I've been happy. You make me feel like I can do any thing. Charity, I.. I love you"  
She stood still in place shocked, but as quickly as the shock wore off she felt   
unbearably happy. At that moment Adrian felt it, HER happiness. He looked at her   
wide-eyed.  
This time Charity wasn't paying attention; she threw her arms around his neck. "I   
love you too!"  
This time she felt his happiness and it made her remember the thought she'd had   
before. It made her scream, "We're soul mates!"  
Adrian looked down at her smiling, "That explains it."  
She looked up at him confused, "What do you mean?"  
He smiled playfully back, "It explains how much I love you."  
Giggling playfully she jabbed him in the side, and sat down to watch the sunset.  
  



	4. Book 1 - Chapter 3

Legend of the Dark Moon – Chapter 3  
Her eyes surveyed the damage she had caused. Houses were overturned,   
cows and sheep murdered, even the plants didn't escape from the horrible   
force. Her whole face seemed to glow with an eerie kind of light, and she moved   
her eyes to a man who was surrounded by what looked like people who were   
trying to protect him. Her lips curled into a smirk, she was going to enjoy this.   
The group of muttered strange words under their breath and multicolored   
streams of power came flowing towards her. The smirk grew as she held up her   
arm throwing her own black power at them knocking them to the ground   
unconscious. Her new power was stronger than she thought, normally it took   
twice to do that.  
Her smirk changed to a smile, a vicious smile, and her red hair blew   
around her as black power surrounded her body. Lighting flashed and thunder   
growled. She thrust her hands forward and a dark black stream of fire burst into   
the planets core. At first nothing seemed to happen but slowly the planet began   
to break apart floating into space. With one last sputter the planet exploded   
leaving nothing but a few asteroids.  
She smiled at the stars and spoke to one far in the distance, "I'm coming, I   
will do my master's bidding."  
It seemed as if the star shone more brightly in return.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Serenity looked up as the door opened, for the last few hours she'd been   
thinking about how she would do this and what she would say. Alex had offered   
to come with her, but Serenity knew how bad her temper was especially when it   
involved her family. So Serenity had come alone, even if she did wish she had   
some back up.  
Ryan himself was a little preoccupied as he stepped through the door into   
his antechamber not noticing his daughter until he was standing next to her, she   
was sitting in a velvet chair obviously as out of it as he was. He watched her for a   
second before speaking, he was a little curious about why she was here, Serenity   
never came to his rooms normally.  
"Sere?"  
Serenity blinked a few times losing her train of thought to concentrate on   
her father, "Oh, father, when did you get here?"  
He looked at her curiously she seemed a little more preoccupied, "Just   
now, is there something the matter?"  
Serenity nodded, "Maybe, I was just wondering why Charity isn't   
attending Winter Festival."  
He looked shocked for a moment before regaining his composure. "How   
did you know about that?"  
She watched him stumble over his emotions, and it confirmed what she   
had already feared. "Dark Moon. Alex and I had decided that something was   
happening, we just weren't sure what."  
Ryan sighed and sat down in a chair adjacent to hers, "How did you find   
out? Nobody was supposed to know."  
Serenity almost hit him for being so uncaring and detached. "You really   
don't understand do you? Charity told us, well she hinted at it. The rest we figured   
out on our own."  
His eyes closed and his voice was pained, "Do you really think I wanted to   
do this? It was a final option, and the council voted on it. If I had a choice I   
wouldn't do it!"  
"I know, it's just we can feel what she's feeling. It's not easy." She took a   
deep breath and changed the subject. "What do you think of Prince Mercury?"  
Ryan looked a little stunned at both the subject change and the question.   
"He seems to be a nice young man. Why? Are you already planning your   
wedding?"  
Serenity grinned, "Not me, but maybe Charity."  
Again Ryan looked stunned.  
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
"Oh wow! You look great, the party's going to be so much fun. Who   
knows maybe we'll even get to dance with some cute Lord!" Jupiter said. She   
was required to attend in her senshi guise but her two friends were not.  
Serenity smiled, "I don't know this dress seems to be to much for this   
celebration, what do you think?"  
The dress was a pale pink creation with tiny sequins glittering on the   
bodice. "No, I don't think so, it looks great! It'd be a waste not to wear it!" Venus   
said as she brushed her hair.  
Alexandra nodded, "Sere it looks perfect!"   
Serenity slowly smiled, "I believe you guys." She looked over at Alex's dress   
it was a plain but graceful looking green dress that whistled when she walked.   
"You look great too."  
She blushed, she was insecure when it came to wearing dresses. "Thank   
you, but I feel bad about Charity not being able to go."  
Mercury's voice entered the conversation, "I know, even Queen Serenity   
is going this year."  
Since the whole palace knew of Charity's return they also knew of her not   
attending Winter Festival. Charity herself had been amazingly understanding   
since she returned, and she seemed different. More confident in herself and in her   
friends.   
Venus looked at Serenity through the mirror, "She'll be okay, and she has   
a lot to think about."  
Uranus looked at Venus questioningly, "What do you mean? What does   
she have to think about?"  
Neptune giggled, "Can't you tell?"  
Uranus glared at her, "What does that mean? What's going on?"  
"Charity's in love! That's why she's been walking around the palace in a   
daze for the last three days!" Venus replied.  
Uranus made a rude noise, "If whoever she's in love with breaks her heart   
I'll make sure he's shipped back home in at least twelve pieces."  
No one knew who the mysterious man was that is with the exception of   
Serenity and Alexandra, and so as they finished preparing for the festival they   
gossiped over who the man was. By the time they were through they had   
decided that it must be Prince Endymion of Earth.   
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Charity watched from her balcony as her friends walked out of the   
palace gates and into the city, they all waved and had promised before they left   
to bring something back for her.   
Her company for the night was a stack of books, twelve in fact, which   
had been left for her by Luna. The black cat had not left until she gave her a   
lecture on how important studies were. At the moment books were the last thing   
she wanted to look at.  
She had avoided attending the get together in Serenity's chambers   
because she knew what they would be talking about. Dresses, food, and boys.   
Most of all she didn't want to feel left out, so she had set in here writing a letter to   
Adrian.   
She missed him, she missed the holy green of his eyes and the dark black   
hair which seemed to fit in with the stars. She knew that she probably wouldn't be   
able to see him for a while either, he was the crown prince of Mercury, and he   
had duties to uphold. That didn't mean she was happy about it.  
A maid quietly knocked at her door, and handed her a small box with a   
note on top. Thanking the maid she closed the door and ripped the note   
opened. It was from her father. It simply said, 'I'm sorry. I know this won't make up   
for it but I can't stand to see you sad. Hopefully it will keep you company.'  
Curious she lifted the lid off the box, and giggled at it's contents. Inside   
was a kitten, it's eyes as the same shade of green as Adrian's and it seemed to   
be quite confused as to why it was being stuck in a box.  
"Meow, are you my new mistress?"  
Charity giggled again at the term, "No, I'm just your owner, but if you'd   
like to leave you may."  
The cat cocked it's head to the side, "I would like to stay, but I do not   
know your name mistress."  
"I am Charity, so stop calling me mistress." She looked down at the cat's   
brown fur and scratched her behind the ears, "What's your name?"  
The kitten purred, "Selene."  
She couldn't help smiling, "Selene is my favorite goddess."  
Selene looked around the room, "Do you not have any food? I have not   
eaten since this morning when the pretty King found me in the alley."  
Charity looked startled, "Don't you have a family?"  
Selene shook her head, "No, but the King told me that you'd make a   
good family and you would treat me nice."  
"Of course I will, just don't go taking any lessons from Luna. She'll have   
you bossing me around in a couple of days."  
"Is Luna a cat too?"  
Charity nodded as she picked up the cat and began to walk out of her   
room towards the kitchens, "Yes. I don't know if we have anything cooked or not,   
but I'm sure we'll be able to find some tuna somewhere."  
Selene began to purr as Charity continued to pet her, "I've never had   
tuna before."  
"Never?" She picked up a can of tuna from the counter where no doubt   
her father had left it, "Here, try it."  
The cat purred contently as she ate the tuna.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Two hours later the festival was in full swing and music could be heard   
through out the capital. Charity was watching the festivities from the balcony in   
the throne room, it had the best view of the city. Selene was fast asleep beside   
her tired from the tour she had been given.  
Charity was almost beginning to think nothing would happen tonight. Of   
course that's when it did. Charity was walking back through the throne room to   
go to her room when she her laughter. The kind that makes you cringe inside.  
"So you're all the protection they left? I was sure there would be more,   
after all isn't the castle the most important part of a kingdom?" The voice was   
high and screechy and it reminded her of nails on a chalkboard.  
"Who says the castle needs more protection then me? After all nothing   
has happened so far." Charity made her voice sound carefree, but she was just   
beginning to feel nervous.  
The person rose from the throne surrounded by long red hair, she wasn't   
pretty, but she looked elegant except for the evil, which shone, in her eyes.   
"Believe me little girl, you won't be able to hold me off. But I will be gentle on you,   
you remind me of myself."  
Charity set down Selene who was already awake and whispered in her   
ear, "Find the pretty king you were talking about, and bring him back here. Tell   
him to leave the senshi at the festival."  
Selene meowed and ran off her feet padding on the stone floor.  
Turning back to the woman Charity smiled, "Aren't you going to introduce   
yourself? It would be awfully rude not to."  
The woman grinned, "I am Beryl, and I have been chosen to annihilate   
anything and anyone who has business with the Moon Kingdom or it's Alliance.   
And you are?"  
Charity smiled, "Oh you probably don't know me. I'm Charity, better   
known as Dark Moon."  
Beryl seemed to think this over, she had never heard of anyone called   
Dark Moon, but she did know that Charity was the third princess of the Moon   
Kingdom. Her master had said she was not a threat. "Princess Charity a pleasure   
to meet you, but I am afraid that you will be buried here tonight."  
"We'll just have to see about that wont we?" She closed her eyes and   
concentrated on her magic, black lightning stuck her and when it cleared Dark   
Moon stood ready for battle. "Now, can we get on with this? I was just about to   
go to bed, I'm afraid it's been a tiring day."  
Beryl laughed, "I do believe I will enjoy this battle young princess. I hope   
you said goodbye to your loved ones."  
Charity yawned, "This talk is getting old, would you please get on with it? I   
would like to get back to bed."  
Beryl sneered and a blood red energy beam at her, but before it even   
got close to reaching her it dissipated into nothing. Beryl stared confused at the   
spot where her attack should have hit, and threw one twice as powerful back.  
Charity just smiled as she watched the second one do the same as the   
first, Beryl was underestimating her power. If she continued throwing little attacks   
she wasn't going to get anywhere.  
"What are you doing? You can't be that powerful!" Beryl was pissed, she   
threw her most powerful beam at Dark Moon.  
Charity was unprepared; she had thought that Beryl didn't have any real   
power. Cursing her own stupidness she was thrown back into a wall, in the   
process twisting her ankle and gaining little cuts and bruises. With an angry   
scream she threw back one of her own attacks, "Moon Strobe Beams!" The dark   
energy separated into tiny beams, hitting Beryl who had figure her own attack   
had already killed the moon princess.  
Beryl wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, "Maybe this will be   
an interesting battle, tell me Princess how many attacks do you have up your   
sleeve?"  
Charity just grinned.  
In anger Beryl growled and used the attack she had used to destroy the   
plant of Solar, only this time the dark black power was focused on one person.   
Charity.  
Dark Moon's eyes widened, this wasn't the kind of attack a human could   
throw. No, there was no way Beryl had learned this kind of magic on her own. Her   
own shield was buckling under the power.  
Beryl laughed triumphantly, and forced more of the power at her   
breaking the shield that was protecting her. "I'm sorry princess, but my mission is   
to kill the royal family of the moon. That would be you."  
The attack had pretty much put Charity in unconsciousness, but she   
wasn't going to black out until she knew she'd defeated Beryl. With her eyes   
closed she began gathering as much power as she could from the things around   
her. She could hear Beryl's shoes clicking on the stone floor heading towards her,   
and she continued to gather power. She knew there was no way she would be   
able to kill her in the state she was in, but hopefully she could get her to leave or   
maybe Selene would bring her father back in time.  
Beryl was unaware of her victim's thoughts as she continued to approach   
her in hopes of finally finishing her off.   
Finally, she could feel the breath on her neck as Beryl leaned down to see   
if she was still alive, and with every ounce of power that she had in her body and   
the power she had gotten from the living things around the castle and she threw   
at Beryl. With all her energy gone she let the blackness envelop her, and for once   
she welcomed it.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Eight days later  
Sailor Mercury checked her computer for the fifth time in two minutes as   
she waited for Charity to wake up. The computer had told her that Charity would   
wake up sometime soon, but she was becoming impatient.  
For the last eight days she'd been sleeping. The whole palace was   
worried, in fact most of her room was covered in flowers and candies from   
people who wanted her to get better. There was a rather large vase of white   
roses that seemed to be from someone who really wanted her to get better, and   
everybody couldn't wait to see who they were from. Most of the senshi had   
already decided they were from Prince Endymion.  
Nobody knew what had happened the night of Winter Festival, when the   
senshi returned they found the throne room in ruins, and King Ryan crying over his   
daughters body. At first they had all thought she was dead, but Mercury had   
scanned her and she was alive. But barely.   
The news spread through the alliance like wildfire, and princes and   
princesses arrived at court to stay until Charity awoke from her slumber. The two   
most concerned seemed to be the Crown Prince of Mercury and the Crown   
Prince of Earth. Both had arrived only two days after the news had been   
released.   
Sailor Mercury had been curious as to why her brother had come, after all   
he never seemed worried about anything that happened to the royal family   
before. She knew she'd find out soon enough, if fact that's why she hadn't told   
anybody that Charity would awaken today.  
Charity groaned and opened her eyes blinking at the bright rays of the   
sun, which shone through her window. At first she thought it all must have been a   
dream, but that was about the time she realized her whole body hurt.  
"How do you feel? You've been out for eight days." Mercury questioned   
her voice full of worry.  
Charity smiled, "I feel like I got run over by a carriage. How about you?"  
Mercury giggled at her friends sense of humor, "I'm fine, but don't try to   
move around you'll get a nasty surprise."  
She cringed; she could already feel the effects of the battle. "What   
happened? Did I get her?"  
Mercury grinned, "I guess so, because she wasn't here when King Ryan   
came back. We didn't find either of you till later, and Ryan has been blaming   
himself for your injuries."  
Charity frowned, "I wish he wouldn't do that."  
Mercury smiled and helped her set up against some pillows, "There now   
you can see all the flowers."  
Charity's eyes widened, "Where did they all come from?"  
"Princes, Lords, Counts. Who knows? You haven't been awake to open   
them!" Mercury thrust the note that came with the white roses at her. "This is the   
most interesting one, it came with the thirty-six white roses."  
Charity blushed already knowing who it had come from, but she happily   
ripped open the note. It said, 'Charity, if you ever do that again I'll kill you myself.   
Adrian'  
"Well is it from your boyfriend?"  
Charity looked up from the note shocked, "Boyfriend?"  
Sailor Mercury set down on the edge of the bed, "We all know you're in   
love with someone. Who is he? Prince Endymion? He has been walking around   
the palace in a daze since he heard of your battle."  
"Endy's here? He shouldn't have come, he has to put his kingdom back   
together!"   
"So it is Endymion! The girls said it was but I didn't think he was your type."   
Mercury stated.  
Charity laughed, "Me and Endy? No, I'm not in love with Endymion. I do   
think he and Sere would make the perfect match though."  
Confused Mercury tried again, "Then who is it?"  
She looked at her friend worried she wasn't sure what Mercury would think   
about her courting her brother. In a whisper she replied, "Adrian."  
Instead of the shock that she had expected Mercury just smiled as if she   
had already known. "I guessed when he showed up here a couple of days ago,   
but I wanted to hear it from you before I said anything. I always knew you two   
were the perfect match but I could never get him to come to the palace so I   
could introduce you two."  
"Adrian's here?" Charity almost jumped out of bed to find him, but quickly   
regretted it as she felt the sharp pains in her sides.  
"Wow! Calm down, he's in conference with your father right now anyway.   
He told me he planed to stop by when he got through. Why don't you take a   
nap? I'll wake you when he comes okay?" Mercury asked as she picked up the   
book she'd been reading before Charity woke up.  
Realizing how tired she was she agreed, and couldn't wait to wake up.   
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
"You want to marry my daughter?" Ryan asked the young man in front of   
him. Prince Mercury had been pacing nervously around the room for the last half   
hour trying to get to the point of the meeting.  
Adrian smiled nervously, "Yes sir."  
Ryan smiled, Adrian seemed to be exactly what Charity needed. He was   
out going and caring and Charity would be able to lean on him for what she   
couldn't do herself. "Why would you like to marry her, Adrian?"  
Adrian sighed nervously, "I love her, sir."  
Ryan's smile grew bigger, "I can't think of a better reason myself, but this is   
a major decision. Are you sure you're ready for this? Charity isn't even of age, I   
have to approve this."  
Adrian grinned, "I've never been more ready for anything in my life." He   
paused for a second, "When I found out that Charity had been injured it scared   
the life out of me, I knew I wouldn't be able to live without her. Besides we're soul   
mates."  
Ryan looked shocked, "You're soul mates? When did you find out?"  
"The day before she returned home."  
"That's great! You have my permission."  
Adrian smiled excitedly, now all he had to do was get up the courage to   
ask her himself.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
The knock at the door startled Sailor Mercury out of her reading stance.   
She hadn't told anyone that Charity had woken up, so she wasn't sure who could   
be at the door. Quietly she opened it, but she knew that she probably wouldn't   
be able to wake Charity up.  
"Adrian?"  
Adrian smiled as he walked into the room his eyes lingered on Charity   
where she was sleeping peacefully. "She hasn't woken up yet?"  
Sailor Mercury smiled, "No quite the opposite, it seems she woke up just   
long enough to tell me a little about you. When I told her you were here she tried   
to jump out of bed to chase you down."  
Adrian chuckled, "What did she tell you?"  
Mercury smiled, "Not much, don't worry I won't tell the others. At least not   
yet." She paused for a second as she remembered his meeting with the king.   
"What were you talking to the king about?"  
He blushed and looked down at the ground and barely whispered, "I   
asked him if I could marry her."  
Mercury gasped, "You did? What did he say?" Mercury knew that Charity   
wasn't of legal age, but Ryan had a soft spot for her.  
Adrian smiled but didn't look up from the floor, "Yes."  
At that point Sailor Mercury did a very unMercury thing, she began to   
jump up and down. "Oh my gosh! That's so great! I can't wait till she wakes up-"  
Charity opened her eyes groggily, "Wait till whose up? I'm up."  
Mercury just smiled and picked up her book, "I have to go, Alex called an   
extra training session she said I could skip it to watch over you, but I think I'm   
leaving you in good enough hands."  
Adrian smiled and shut the door behind her. "How do you feel?"  
Charity grinned, "I feel much better now, thank you for the roses they're   
beautiful."  
He smiled back, "Well, I figured that they would cheer you up, but if you   
ever have the craving to do something like that again I WILL kill you."  
"Hey, I didn't even think I was going to make it for a minute."  
Adrian grimaced, "Don't talk like that, I can't imagine it if you didn't live.   
Where would I be then?"  
Charity was too stunned to do anything but smile.  
"I have to ask you something."   
She nodded, and again she felt the nervousness he was feeling.  
"W…Will you marry me?"  
For the second time in one day Charity tried to jump out of bed, this time   
the consequences were a little worse. Her sides felt like someone was stabbing   
her over and over again, and her leg burned.   
Immediately Adrian was at her side putting her back against the pillows,   
"You're really going to have to stop doing that."  
"YES! YES! YES!"   
Adrian chuckled, "You know for someone in as much pain as you are   
you'd think you'd have no energy left."  
Charity smiled and pulled his head down to hers and for once she wasn't   
a bit shy. She just kissed him with every ounce of passion she could find.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
The news spread through the alliance like wildfire, and everyone was   
excited about the upcoming wedding. Charity gradually got better and before   
long she was back at training, and much harder then before. It kept nagging at   
her that she hadn't been able to defeat Beryl, and she was afraid of what would   
happen if she couldn't next time.  
The wedding was thrown together quicker then any other wedding in   
history. The reason was the fact that nobody knew what was going to happen   
next, and everybody wanted to be ready.  
It had been decided that after the wedding the two would stay in the   
capital until it was time for Adrian to take the throne of Mercury.  
The only thing that really changed was the fact that Charity now was able   
to be a senshi, Sailor Mercury. Of course there was no need for her to ever   
become the second senshi of Mercury, but the point is she did have the ability to.  
So the next two weeks came and went in peace nobody attacked and   
the kingdom rejoiced the new engagement. And finally it was time for the   
wedding.  
Everybody who was anybody attended, and the ceremony took place   
on a balcony where anyone who wanted could watch. That was one of the most   
important things to Charity. The honeymoon was short, but it was everything they   
expected.   
When they returned it was back to training, but both of them were more   
confident in what they could do. Charity was no longer shy, it was as if Adrian   
was her backbone and as long as she had him she could stand on her own two   
feet.  
And Serenity had finally been introduced to Prince Endymion, and just as   
Charity had expected they feel in love immediately. They were planning to be   
married after her coming of age ball.  
Nobody had heard anything about Beryl, but they all knew that she   
couldn't be dead. So they all waited in patient weariness.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
"You did not complete the task I gave you, would you wish to be   
replaced by Metallia?" An inky black voice said.  
Beryl lay on a stone bed her eyes wide with fear, "I will complete the task   
master! I will do as I pledged."  
The voice spoke again, "You have one last chance, attack at the coming   
of age ball for the Princesses Alexandra and Serenity. Dark Moon will not be   
attending; she will be in the middle of the galaxy. Take advantage of it."  
Beryl sneered, she would get her revenge on the brat, but first she would   
do as her master bid. Then there would be no place for the freak to hide.  



	5. Book 1 - Chapter 4

6/17/01  
  
Hello all! New chapter out hope you all enjoy it! This chapter is dedicated to Slayer Prime,   
because of the great encouragement she emailed me! Feel free to email me @   
dianap@lunap.com   
  
Legend of the Dark Moon – Chapter 4  
Sailor Pluto paced around the time gates, her eyes surveying the vision she had   
just received. She knew it would be true, and she knew that the future could not be   
changed. Not by her and not by anyone else.  
The time was coming, the time of the end of the beginning. Now the only   
question that could be asked was what would happen next. Of course there was only   
one person who could answer that question. The answer was: It would be a long hard   
road for the senshi, but the hardest road would be for Adrian and Charity.  
For years Pluto had been trained for this, for what she was and wasn't allowed to   
do. Unfortunately, she never realized how hard it would be when the time did come. It   
hurt her to know that her cousins would have to go through so much, but she would   
make sure they were ready when the time came, she WOULD.  
Now though there was only one thing she could do, and she knew that Beryl was   
counting on the advantage this action would bring. It would be the only way. The only   
way.  
With a swirl of her time key she demanded a portal that went directly to Queen   
Serenity. The portal appeared as commanded and she entered it, on the other side was   
the Queen of the Moon, alone in her personal chambers. She looked quite shocked.  
"Pluto? It's been a long time since you've visited from the time gates. I imagine   
that this is not a social call." Serenity said her face serene but her voice worried.   
"Everything's about to fall apart isn't it? I can feel it looming in the air."  
Pluto didn't answer, but she wished she could. Sometimes she felt as if there was   
a line between her and her friends she could never cross. It made her feel very lonely.   
"My queen, I come to give you a word of advice. You may chose whether or not to use   
it."  
Serenity frowned, "If you give me advice I know better then not to use it."  
"Tomorrow night, right before Serenity and Alexandra's coming of age ball, send   
Princess Charity and Prince Adrian on a trip to Mercury. Make sure that you send them   
right before the ball, no sooner no later." Pluto said.   
Serenity nodded, "I will do as you say, and I will pray that our Kingdom lives   
through this crisis."  
Pluto turned away from her queen and stepped back into the portal. She knew   
that the Kingdom would not make it through this crisis, so she let the tears fall for all that   
would die in the next 48 hours.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Serenity smiled at her daughter and son-in-law, "How would you two like to take   
a trip to Mercury tomorrow night?"  
Charity looked at her mother questionably, "But mama, what about the ball? Isn't   
it expected that I attend."  
Serenity hated lying, but she knew that she must to get her daughter to leave. "I   
know, but I was just speaking to Alanna. It seems she hasn't been feeling to well lately,   
but it might just be the fact that she hasn't had much sleep since the baby was born. She   
would like for you and Adrian to return to Mercury."  
Adrian frowned, "She's alright isn't she? It's not serious?"  
Serenity smiled, "No, she'll be alright. She wants to make sure you have time to   
celebrate with your sisters before you leave though, so you will not be leaving till a little   
before the ball starts."  
Adrian nodded, and Charity agreed. She wouldn't mind spending a little time   
with Adrian anyway.   
"Now, aren't you two late for dinner?"   
Smiling the two nodded, but they weren't about to go to dinner. No, they had   
other plans.  
Serenity watched them go, and nodded to Captain Andros who had been   
standing in the corner of the room. "Watch over them Andros, I'm not sure what's going   
to happen but don't let them leave till you see the fire works."  
Andros smiled, "Don't worry, my queen, I will watch over our young chicks."  
Serenity nodded, "I know you will, I just don't know if that will be enough."  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
Everything began falling apart at dawn the next morning, and the first thing that   
went was Pluto. The fields and crops all burned under fires that lasted for months   
afterwards, and many, many people died.  
The only thing that was left untouched was the gate of time, and it's inhabitant.   
Sailor Pluto watched from her gate as her kingdom and palace burned to the ground,   
and her tears fell unchecked.   
With impatient frustration she wiped the tears from her face, she had no time for   
such things. By now Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune would all be destroyed as well, and she   
had to make sure that the news did not reach the capital before Serenity and Alexandra   
gained their birthrights.  
Saturn the planet of death and rebirth, now it truly would be dead. It would wait   
patiently for the time of its rebirth.  
Uranus the planet of the heavens, now it would lead the millions who would die to   
their new home in the skies, until time to rise out of the clouds once more.  
Neptune the planet of the oceans, the tide had come in and it was time to go   
back out again. One day it would come again and be rejoiced.  
Pluto the planet of time and space, it could never fall the planet of eternal   
solitude and loneliness. Forever it would stand-alone.  
The outer planets had been the first to fall, their lives taken away with a   
vengeance like a healing fire set to bring life back to the forest, but first the fire must kill   
all in its way.  
Sailor Pluto watched, but she could do nothing except assure that the birthrights   
be given to the last two princesses of the Moon Kingdom. If that did not happen the   
planets could never rise again.  
With a sigh of regret she cut the lines between the senshi and their planets, now   
they would not be able to hear the cries for help. She continued to watch, it was almost   
time for the ball the last battle would begin shortly.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
Charity bowed gracefully to her eldest sister, "Serenity, I hope you don't mind   
Adrian and I leaving before the ball."  
Serenity smiled happily, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. After all I'll have Endy with me!"   
She nodded towards the man standing behind her.   
Charity had introduced Endymion to Serenity at her wedding, and since then she   
had not been able to get them apart. Her mother had congratulated her, and said it   
they would make the perfect pair. They were already engaged.  
Alexandra smiled teary eyed, "You guys are both going to be married before me!   
This isn't fair!"  
Charity smiled elusively, "Maybe it's your fate to marry in another lifetime."  
Alex frowned dejectedly, "Just my luck. I'll die an old lady then marry some   
handsome guy next time around. Just what am I supposed to do till then?"  
Serenity and Charity looked at each other, "Flirt?"  
They all broke into giggles as the two men looked at each other and gave a look   
that said 'we'll never understand them, so why try?'.  
Charity finally got control of her giggles and walked over to Endymion, "Your   
highness, I'm afraid I won't be able to be here for you engagement announcement."  
"Why'd you go formal all of the sudden?" He grinned, "Don't worry about it I'm sure   
we'll find some way to torture you for it in the future."  
She grimaced, "I'm sure you will."  
"Go, go. We have to get to the ball. Leave us!" He responded pushing her and   
Adrian towards the door.  
The both chuckled as Adrian grabbed Charity's hand and dragged her towards   
the ship.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
The crowd quieted down as the King and Queen stepped onto the grand   
staircase. Both looked absolutely stunning. Behind them were the Princesses Alexandra   
and Serenity, both wearing the traditional white gowns for the ceremony.  
"As is tradition, on the seventeenth birthday of the Princesses of the Moon the   
birthright will be past down as part of their coming of age." King Ryan stated his voice   
ringing clearly over everyone in the room.  
Queen Serenity stepped in front of Princess Alexandra silver power shimmering   
around her body, "Do you, Princess Alexandra, swear by this oath to always protect your   
kingdom and it's people?"  
Alexandra's eyes held a look of awe as she said a quiet, "I swear."  
The golden mark of the stars shone brightly on her forehead, as did the crescent   
moon on Queen Serenity's. There was a bright flash that blinded everyone in the room,   
and as the light faded everyone could see the change. Instead of the white dress she'd   
been wearing she was now in her senshi fuku, only her skirt and bows were silver. As   
tradition a silver fuku represented someone who had been able to conquer his or her   
magical abilities, and now had complete control.  
The same process was repeated for Serenity, but when the lights faded she was   
not wearing a senshi fuku. Instead she was wearing the traditional dress of the Queen of   
the Moon. She was now truly the Crown Princess of the Moon Kingdom.  
Everyone cheered happily, and all over the kingdom people celebrated the   
coming of age of their two princesses. It seemed as if the night would last forever in the   
people's celebrations, but just as everything was seemingly fine the attack finally hit the   
Moon Kingdom.  
The Sailor Senshi fought bravely, but their power was too weak and they were the   
first to fall. Every solider in the Kingdom fought, but they had no weapons to use against   
such a foe.   
Every peasant in the kingdom died, and at last there was only the royal family   
left. But, Beryl took Endymion, and Serenity afraid of living without him jumped into the   
evil magic.  
Queen Serenity's tears feel as she watched all of her people die, and finally she   
took out the Silver Imperium Crystal. It's magic pulsed through the evil magic temporarily   
locking it away, and with the last of her energy she sent all of her people into the future   
to a better time and place.  
But two people were forgotten.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
Chairty dropped the glass as abruptly as it had been handed to her, and   
doubled over in pain. Tears flowed unchecked down her cheeks.  
"Charity? What's wrong?" Adrian's voice was full of fear as he bent down next to   
her.  
"They're dead, everyone! Everyone's dead!" Her voice was wracked with guilt   
and anger at herself. "I promised I'd protect them! I promised!"  
Adrian could do nothing but simply sit there in shock, not sure of what to do.   
A black porthole opened and Sailor Pluto stepped through her eyes held more   
guilt than anyone could bear to see in one person. "It had to happen. Don't worry   
they're all fine."  
Charity's cries quieted as she spoke to the senshi of Pluto, "Don't tell me they're   
all right, they're dead! They can't be alright!"  
Pluto smiled, "But they are, they're all in the future. Sent there by your mother."  
Charity's eyes widened, "What about us? Why weren't we?"  
"I will tell you, but first I must send him." She spoke to Adrian, "Come on, don't   
worry she'll be with you. You should know I couldn't keep her away."  
Adrian smiled, "Yes, I suppose not."   
He bent down and kissed Chairty, his eyes watering with tears. "Until we meet   
again, sweet princess."  
The garnet orb flashed, and Pluto whispered, "Time take him to the place he was   
meant to be."  
Adrian blew her a final kiss, and with the flash of the Garnet Orb he disappeared   
from sight.  
Charity's smile grew a little she would see him soon. "Now will you answer my   
question?"  
Pluto smiled, "I blocked you. I did not allow Serenity to send you with everyone   
else."  
Charity stood there shocked, "Why? If you were planning to send us yourself than   
why didn't you let her?"  
Pluto looked at her calmly, "Princess, have you not yet realized that you are   
pregnant?"  
Charity sat down HARD.  
"If I had let Serenity send you with the others you would have lost the baby." She   
paused to let her absorb that information. "Unfortunately, I don't have much of an   
alternative."  
Charity looked up still shocked, "I don't want to lose it."  
Pluto nodded, "I didn't think you would, but you only have one other choice. The   
only way I can allow you to keep the baby is if you have it when you have it just after   
your sixteenth birthday. It will be hard, because the life you're going to have to lead will   
be very different from the one you know." She paused, "It's your choice."  
Charity smiled, "Adrian will be with me won't he?"  
Pluto nodded.  
"Then there's no choice to make. Just promise me you will give me memories of   
this lifetime." Charity begged.  
Pluto smiled, "I will, but not until your sixteenth birthday."  
With a flash of the Garnet orb Charity was sent into time to be reborn with the rest   
of her friends and family.  
Sailor Pluto stared after her, and for one of the few times in her life she collapsed   
into a sobbing ball. She knew that the child Charity carried was one of the most   
important keys to their future, she knew that no matter what Charity's life would be the   
hardest of all her sisters, she knew that Serenity would always be surrounded by people   
who loved her and no matter how hard it got she would still have the easiest road, she   
knew Alexandra would get to live like a normal girl for most of her life….. she knew   
everything.  
She cried harder.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^  
In a dark corner of a dark universe a evil laugh echoed, followed was a voice full   
of hatred. "You may think you've saved your children Serenity, but I have many followers.   
It will not be long till they join you forever! I will pay you back…" The laughter rang out   
again.  



	6. Book II - Prologue

Legend of the Dark Moon – Book II – Prologue  
The birthing room of the hospital was filled with screams as a beautiful baby   
boy was born into the world, his hair the color of the midnight skies and his eyes   
intensely blue. The mother smiled happily and held him to her chest. In a far corner   
of the room a young lady with long green hair watched the scene, her eyes wide   
with sadness from some forgotten time and she spoke, "The time has come young   
prince of Earth, the time for it all to start over." A bright green flash of light filled the   
room, invisible to those without magical capabilities, but the young baby boy saw it   
and he hushed feeling secure and protected.  
The same year in a hospital not far away from where the first boy had been   
born another was born. This boy had the same midnight hair as the first only his   
eyes were a shade of holy green. The noise in this birthing room was much different   
a sad gloomy atmosphere, the mother watched her son with longing eyes but she   
was only a teenager and her parents took the baby away. She would not see it again   
for many years. The same green haired girl watched the scene, she watched the boy   
be taken to a small orphanage where he would spend the rest of his childhood. And   
as the green light filled the room she spoke in his ear, "Do not worry, she will be   
with you soon you must watch over her." As the light faded a light of understanding   
filled the babies young eyes, somehow it seemed to understand.  
Four years later the same mother of the second boy visited the same room   
again. This time a beautiful baby girl was born, her hair and eyes blue as the sky.   
The same year six other girls were born each a part of some undefined destiny. At   
each birth the same green haired lady watched unseen, and she whispered the same   
thing to them before they left, "Watch them. They are the key to all our futures."   
And when the green light was gone they all stopped crying as if they were waiting for   
another message to reach them.  
That year on June 30, triplets were born to a blue haired mother. Though   
they had nothing physically similar you could feel the bond that they shared with   
each other. In the corner of the room the same green haired lady stood watching,   
but this time she didn't leave she walked silently behind them as they were taken to   
the nursery, and waited until no one was around. Frowning she looked at Serena, the   
oldest of the triplets. "Young princess, your life will never be out of your control.   
Hang on to your friends." She looked at the middle child, named Alexandra. "You are   
the luckiest, your powers will not be needed till the very end. You shall sleep in   
peace." With a sad remembering glance she looked away from the one named   
Charity. "I promised you that I would make sure that your sisters lives as peaceful as   
possible, even if you were the one to take their hardships, but even I can not stop   
some things. Still you'll have the hardest life, trust in Adrian and Darien. They will   
help you through this."  
Her eyes darkened a little bit with regret, but she swung a large key around   
her head and opened a portal. Smiling at Serena she silently promised to someday   
return her two sisters, and she picked up the two youngest sisters taking them   
silently through the portal. Nobody noticed they were gone, until for hours later.  
On the doorstep of a small apartment Juuban district the green haired lady   
left the middle child. The couple that lived there had wanted children for years, the   
princess would be most welcome in their home. Smiling she left as quickly as she   
came.  
Charity was different; she was left on the doorstep of a small orphanage. The   
same orphanage the second boy had been given to. "Those two will always protect   
you. Stand by them. On your fourteenth birthday you and Adrian will be given your   
memories back, as I promised, I will see you soon after that." And for the final time   
she disappeared into a green light.  
The door to the orphanage opened as a young boy ran out to get the morning   
paper, and stumbled directly over the baby girl. The boy looked down at what he   
tripped over and smiled, she was so cute. He was only four but he felt the need to   
protect her, and from inside the house he heard someone scream for him to hurry.   
Taking the paper and the baby girl he walked back into the house. He had a feeling   
things would be different from now on.  
Two years later a car crashed off a cliff, one boy managed to live through it,   
the boy was take to the same orphanage.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
Two-year-old Charity clung to Adrian's arm, her eyes curiously watching the   
new boy being introduced to everyone. He looked to be about the same age as   
Adrian somewhere around six years old, and he looked lonely. Sort of as if he'd been   
left alone without anything good to remember.  
Adrian watched him as the introduction was over and the rest of the children   
went back to whatever they were doing, not caring what happened next. The boy,   
Darien, was standing still in the middle of the room looking like a fish out of water.   
He looked over at Charity. "What do you think? Should we join him?"  
Charity nodded her head, "'Drian he looks sad. Sad isn't good."  
Adrian smiled, "No, sad isn't good come on."   
Adrian walked curiously up to the boy, little Charity clinging to his arm. The   
boy watched them approach with cool eyes, almost detached. Charity clung tighter   
to his arm. "It's okay, Charity. He's just not used to being in a place like this."  
That was probably true, the orphanage was dreary the walls were white, but   
over the years they'd acquired a nice set of coloring markers and paint stains. The   
children were quiet and calm only because they knew if they acted out they'd be   
whipped and sent back to bed with out the one piece of bread they were allowed for   
dinner. Rooms were small and packed, and most of the time they were shared with   
both boys and girls.  
There hadn't been a baby at St. Peter's orphanage since Adrian, when Charity   
was brought in, and at first no one knew what to do with her. The only two live ins   
were over sixty years old, and they had no idea how to take care of a baby with   
thirty children already living in the house, but right from the beginning Adrian had   
stepped forward and taken her in. He'd been the one to take care of her, so there'd   
been and old closet cleaned out and two beds put it in it. Adrian would live with   
Charity.  
Adrian wasn't too sure where they'd put this new boy, all the rooms were full,   
and there was no way to fit another bed in the closet where Charity and himself   
slept. But the boy wasn't worried about anything, he just kept watching them   
approach, it was almost disconcerting for the six-year-old Adrian.  
Charity looked at the boy and spoke to him, "You sad, sad isn't good. Me 'n   
'Drian don't want you to be sad."  
The boy looked startled at the little girl, she was a pretty smart for her age.   
He somehow knew that she shouldn't be able to speak with such good grammar at   
such a young age. Adrian smiled down at her, "That's right, you told him didn't you?   
How do you think we could cheer him up?"  
Charity looked at the boy, "Doll."  
The boy was startled again, the little girl actually wanted to cheer him up.   
He'd lain awake for nights on end in the hospital without anyone caring if he ate,   
slept, or was happy.  
Adrian looked back to the boy, "She wants you to play with her doll. What's   
your name?"  
"Darien."  
He smiled, "I'm Adrian, and that's Charity."  
Charity spoke more urgently, "Doll."  
Darien smiled, "Okay, let's play with doll."  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
Charity sat propped up on the fence. Her legs swinging back and forth. Lately   
she hadn't had anywhere she could just come and think. Plus, she literally had no   
privacy; she hared her room with a boy!  
Footsteps pounded heavily on the ground behind her, she'd known that one of   
them would eventually come after her.  
Darien swung himself onto the fence. "So what's wrong?"  
"Nothing, I'm just thinking." She answered still looking up at the stars.  
Darien smiled. "This had to do with Adrian doesn't it?"  
"Yeah, I guess so. I'm always thinking about him, and whenever I see him I   
get nervous… I don't know, maybe I'm just sick. Do you think I have a fever?" She   
babbled not to o sure if she should've told him in the first place.  
Darien rolled his eyes, "You know perfectly well that you're not sick. You're   
never sick. I think you also know why you feel so funny around Adrian."  
Charity glared at him, sure she'd known she just wasn't ready to admit it to   
herself, she was afraid that everything would change. "I don't like change."  
"Yes, you do, I know you do. You're just afraid of it. I promise, if you tell him   
nothing bad will come of it."  
She jumped off the fence and headed back to the orphanage, "So what did   
you two do this time? Draw straws to see who got to come talk to me?"  
Darien chuckled, "You know us too well." He paused, "He told me to come   
because he thought you might be more comfortable talking to me every once in a   
while. He's afraid of change too."  
Baffled she just kept walking.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
Charity absolutely hated it when Darien was right, he was the smartest one of   
the three and he had no problem showing it. So a month later she was still trying to   
find a way to tell Adrian, but having no success. Plus Darien kept throwing them   
together in uncomfortable positions, it was bad enough she was still sharing a room   
with him.  
She rolled her eyes at her self and looked down at her homework, chemistry   
was so hard to concentrate on these days. Not that it was ever easy.  
The door squeaked and opened as Adrian walked in. Throwing his jacket on   
the bed he plopped down on the floor next to her. "What're you working on?"  
"Chemistry, but it's not due till Friday anyway. I just didn't have anything to   
do." She replied.  
He reached over and took it away from her, "Good, then you can tell me what   
you want for your birthday."  
"Nothing! I already told Dare. You guys are teaming up on me!" She   
complained.  
He chuckled, "No, we're just trying to get information!"  
She looked down, "It doesn't matter, I can't have what I want anyway."  
Adrian was take aback, one minute she was joking with him the next she was   
serious. He knew something was really wrong with her, he just didn't know what,   
and it was bugging the heck out of him. "Why won't you tell me what's wrong?'  
Charity looked at him, "Because I'm afraid."  
"Afraid of what?"  
"Change."  
Adrian frowned, "Me too, but we're orphans. Things are always going to   
change, we may have to completely change our lives once we get out of here. Our   
life is causing us to change there's not reason to fear it."  
Charity smiled she'd never thought of things that way. "I guess you're right."  
"Good! Now, tell me what's wrong with you!" He demanded.  
Looking down she barely whispered, "I'm in… I'm in love with you."  
He stared down at her for a minute not comprehending what she had said.  
"Never mind. I didn't say anything!" She babbled and got up to run out of the   
room.  
With lightning reflexes he grabbed her wrist, "What's wrong with that?"  
She looked at the floor again and stopped struggling against him; "It doesn't   
matter does it? You don't feel the same way."  
He chuckled, "I've loved you for two years, ask Darien, you just never   
noticed."  
He was right, she hadn't noticed, and she didn't doubt that he was telling the   
truth either. Smiling from ear to ear she threw herself into his arms and cried   
happily. "You gave me everything I wanted for my birthday already!"  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
Sailor Pluto gently shook Charity awake. "Wake up, and get dressed. It's   
time, young princess."  
Barely awake Charity threw her clothes on, and went around to Adrian's half   
of the room to find him already dressed sitting on the end of his bed. "Morning."  
Taking a glance out of the window she snorted, "The sun's not even up yet."  
Pluto stepped out of the darkness, "Sorry, princess. I had to wake you before   
everyone else in order to have enough time."  
"Hello, Sailor Pluto." Shaking her head shocked she whispered, "How did I   
know that?"  
"Garnet Orb, release their memories!"  
A bright green flash filled the room and Adrian and Charity both stepped back   
as the memories flowed through them. Everything from their birth to their death.   
Sailor Pluto smiled with satisfaction.  
"It's time, Charity." Pluto said.  
Charity looked up a little overwhelmed by all that was happening, "Yes, I   
guess it is. Thank you, Pluto."  
Pluto smiled, and stepped through a porthole back to the time gates.  
Adrian smiled, "It's about time."  
Charity laughed, "Only she didn't stick around long enough to tell us where   
everyone else is."  
Adrian glanced at the floor, and started laughing, "She lefts us a letter! How   
Pluto—like."  
They opened it together and read it aloud, "I know you've probably wondering   
where your sisters are. It is very important that you do not find them, until other   
people introduce them to you. Charity remember you must always protect them, and   
Prince Darien. Do not forget what I told you the last time I saw you."  
"Very thorough, what did she till you the last time she saw you?" Adrian   
questioned. He could remember that day, she'd refused to tell her while he was still   
there.  
Charity's eyes widened, "Oh gosh."  
She stood up abruptly, "I can't believe this."  
Adrian calmly stood up, ""What's wrong? What is it?"  
"I'm pregnant." She looked him in the eyes, "She gave me a choice she told   
me that if she'd allowed mother to take me with the others that I would've lost the   
baby."  
He sat back down on the bed a n d took a deep breath, "Then I'm glad she   
didn't let her. We'll be happy, and we'll have to work hard."  
Charity smiled in agreement.  
"Darien and I are going to be sent out in a couple of days. I wasn't you to   
marry me." He said smiling at her.  
Her eyes got wide again' she was having way to many surprises today. "Of   
course!! YES!"   
"Good, now we can get out of here!"  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
Of course things had to be done. Legally they had to have permission from   
the head of the orphanage. That was easy enough seeing how they had far too little   
room and how Charity had just always been thought of as the same age as Adrian   
and Darien. Then of course Darien had to be told.  
The argument over who would break the news was so long that Darien almost   
found out by listening to a conversation that Charity had been having with the head   
Mother. So eventually they decided that Charity would be one to tell Darien, which   
then lead to a fight with herself to decide WHEN to tell him. Luckily, the time   
appointed itself when Adrian made sure that they were the only two people free to   
go to town to do the grocery shopping.  
The walk to town was awkwardly quiet due to the facet that Darien knew that   
there was something both Adrian and Charity had been hiding from him, and the fact   
that Charity didn't know how to tell Darien about the baby or her upcoming wedding.   
Finally, Darien got tire d of waiting.  
"So, are we going to have to finish shopping before you decide to tell me   
whatever it is that you've been hiding?" Darien questioned as he looked over a pair   
of apples.  
She smiled slightly, "Well, I like to enjoy my time with the fruits."  
He grinned, "I'm sure that's true, but I'm also sure that it's not a coincidence   
that we're here by ourselves doing grocery shopping that normally takes six people."  
The smile faded a little, "No, I suppose not."  
"Listen to me for a second, Charity, I know whatever it is you've got to tell   
me is something you're scared of telling me. So, I'll tell you something first." He   
paused for a second to pick of a couple of oranges and a kiwi. "We all grew up   
together, from the time you made me play with your doll to right now shopping for   
food. NO matter what I will always think of you as my little sister. I don't care that   
there isn't some piece of paper that says we're related or not."  
She wiped a tear from her eye, and gave him a gigantic hug. "Well, fine then,   
I guess I'm going to have to start calling you big brother!"  
"I don't have a problem with that, but I would like to know what's going on."  
She stopped walking and sat down on a small bench outside the bathrooms."   
Adrian and I are getting married."  
Darien sat down next to her. "I see, I almost expected that. So, what was so   
hard about that?"  
Her voice lowered into a whisper, "That's not all, Darien, I'm pregnant."  
Darien smiled, "Okay, so we're going to have another moth to feed. I sure   
hope it doesn't eat as much as you or we'll all be broke in a day."  
"We?"  
"You didn't think I was about to give up on the two of you did you? No, we'll   
just need an apartment wit ha rather large refrigerator."  
For the second time in one day Darien was given a large bear hug, but it was   
rather short, because suddenly Charity ran into the bathroom to throw up most of   
what she ate for breakfast and she was quite sure some of last night's dinner.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
The Tsukino family was at this exact time finding a rather large letter   
addressed to them in their mailbox. Of course, they did receive letters every day, but   
this one letter was special. It was from the special agency that they had hired years   
ago in hopes of finding their two missing daughters.  
Giving a quick prayer Ellen Tsukino quickly ripped open the envelope and   
scanned its contents. Unable to believe what she was reading she read it three more   
time before shouting for her husband to read it also.  
In short the letter told of a couple whom had found a baby on their d   
doorstep, although the couple had always wanted children they felt that if the child   
belonged to someone they could not keep it. They filled a report in order to see if   
someone could claim the missing child, but since the baby was in a small town an   
hour away the case had never been connected. The agency was positive that the   
child was the second of the three children Ellen had, had that night.  
Then the letter went on to tell that there had been an auto accident just on   
the other side of the same town that involved a stolen car. Inside they had found the   
charred remains of a man and a baby. That baby had been the third child Ellen had   
given birth to that night.  
Her husband read the letter and quietly agreed with his wife that neither   
Serena nor Alexandra should know that they had a second sister. In fact, that night   
when he called the family to sit up the meeting in which they would finally get to   
meet their daughter he told the family not to tell of the third child.  
The next day Ellen and her husband, Ken, brought Serena and their youngest   
child, Sammy, to a small beach house where they explained what had happened that   
night Serena was born. Sammy didn't really care, but Serena was shocked, angry,   
and happy.  
The same day the family that had raised Alexandra quietly explained they had   
fund her real family, she had know for years that she had been left on their   
doorstep, Alex, was sad to be leaving the family she had known for the first fourteen   
years of her life but also happy that her family had wanted her and had not left her   
for dead as she had thought for years.  
The day after, the two families met and the two sisters were reunited. Neither   
knew that that the exact time their other sister was two months pregnant and   
getting married to a brother of a friend they Alexandra would meet for the first time   
the next day. In fact, neither of them even knew she existed.  
^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*  
The wedding took place in a judges quarters, and was the quiet kind of   
wedding that they all expected, but the three of them were all happy, and they all   
returned to the orphanage for the last night they would ever spend there.  
They had managed to find a medium sized apartment across the street form   
Tokyo University where both Adrian and Darien would be attending. Charity had   
decided that she would wait till the next year to start college.  
Alexandra and Serena started their first year of High School at Crossroads,   
and their parents quietly mourned the death of the child neither of the two girls   
knew about.  
Sailor Moon and her royal guard defeated Beryl and Galaxia, but there were   
even more battles to come plus soldiers none of them remembered, but for this time   
there would be peace as all of them waited.  
  



	7. Important Author's Note

Well, reguardless of popular opinion, I'm still alive and still writing. In fact I'm right   
now writing the next chapter of LOTDM, but I'm not sure anybody is even reading   
this story. So if you are reading this story and if you are wanting to read the next   
chapter you'd better email me a shout out at snowy_owl@writeme.com  
  
Sailor Heartache/Crimson Fairy 


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